Vulnerable
by Im-Ina-Tent
Summary: He would never, ever, EVER, show anyone any hint whatsoever of vulnerability. She was just an exception of epic proportions. Based during the time of the fourth generation of Wammy. MelloxOC
1. Chapter 1

"It's nice to meet you...but it's a shame it had to be like this." An elderly man, who goes by Roger, said to me as he extended his hand. It was earnest, but i could tell he had said that to multiple people before me. I wasn't like where this was going. At all. I took his hand anyway, already searching his features to see what kind of reaction he was expecting from me when I heard whatever he had to say. Reading people's body language, features, expressions, ect..- and using that to decipher what they're thinking, expecting, and sometimes their emotions. For some people, it was just way too easy to read their emotions. I liked it though, it was almost as though I had power over them. Like no matter what it was I would always be two steps ahead of them. Naturally, I was really good at chess.

"Now I know you've been through a lot lately," Not really. Just having my parents dying and being sent to an orphanage, only to have a bunch of strange people make me take a very extensive array of strange tests. "But please bear with me on this one." Well, I'm not sure where this is going, but I really hope you're not giving me foster parents this soon. I seriously think I'd hit you if they were a pair of those 'perfect parents' who are successful in every way possible.

"Hello, Rodger, my has it been a while since I've seen you." A cheerful voice rang out as Justin came in, the man who ran the orphanage I was currently staying at. Rodger grinned and nodded, shaking Justin's hand vigorously. Justin looked at me, cocked his head and smiled brilliantly at Rodger.

"You don't say..." Justin trailed off and Rodger nodded. The Justin turned back to me.

"Take a seat while me and Rodger talk things out a bit." He motioned at a bed a few ways away from where Justin and Rodger were currently chatting.

"Now I know it's sudden, but she has potential that I've seen since we took in that Keehl almost a year back." I think my eye twitched. I could handle being compared, but definately not being expected to be as good as someone who was seemingly perfect. So they better not do that.

"She's a bright one, that's for sure. A bit intimidating though, even for the older girls." Of course I was intimidating to them, they were as dull as watching paint dry when it came to intelligence! And always so full of hype, it was annoying. They're's nothing preppy about being an orphan.

"We already have all of the living arrangements made, her room is right in between the girl's and boy's dorm, due to reconstruction after that little...incident."

Immediately I turned, knitted my eyebrows together and frowned.

"Hey, I know this is fast, but you're going to Wammy's House." He said it as though that was something to be proud of.

"I'm sorry Wammy himself could not be the one to bring you here, but he was on a buisness trip. He should be just returning, actually." Wammy himself? At least that orphanage won't be one hundred years old, like the one I'm at. I always feel so paranoid that the ceiling is going to collapse. I walked out with him to the driveway, only to see my bags already packed and in the truck. I expected that much, it's not like they had asked me if I wanted to go or not. I think I would've anyway though, so I'm too mad about it. I used to not be mad about anything. My old friends had known me as the hyperactive blonde, programmed like a computer when the time called for it. My family, however, knew me as the outcast. I looked nothing like my parents or my sister. My parents had brown hair and brown eyes, my sister with the same shiny, perfect brown hair with the perfect waves, and had been "blessed" with gorgeouse, soft, green eyes.  
>I, however, was blonde. Light blonde, but not quite platinum. My eyes were a light blue, much to my parent's dismay. Apparently I had a relative who had had blue eyes like mine, and they ended up in jail. I was much too smart to get caught if I ever did anything illegal. Anyway, I constantly put my hair in a side bun, my slightly too long bangs almost going across my whole forehead, but having a little swoop to the left.<p>

The black car, just short of being a limo, finally pulled up to a large building that looked more like an institution than anything else.

"You're lucky you came here when you did, it summer vacation just started." Roger said as car rolled through the large golden gates of Wammy House. I put an impassive look on my face as the driver opened my door for my and grabbed my one bag of whatever I was able to salvage. I walked up to the large wooden door marking the entrence, always a few steps behind Roger. He pushed the oak door open to reveal the grand indoors of the Wammy institutio- orphanage. Oops.

"Hello there, you must be the new student here. My name is Watari, and this is L." He pointed his aging finger at a tall pale man who looked to be in his early twenties, maybe late teens. He was slightly hunched over and his wear was dark and messy. He had dark circles under his eyes that clearly showed he didn't get nearly as much sleep as he should. He wore a white T-shirt with the neckline stretched out and ordinary blue jeans. This was the famous question Roger had pelted facts about at me during the way too long drive here? The was the detective I was aspired to be? This won't actually be so bad.

"Hello, Jessica. Like Watari said, I am L. It's a pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand, and I saw his face held no emotion whatsoever. Just a simple smile. I grasped his hand much faster than I had with Roger's, simply out of respect. Your room is upstairs, to the left. It should be the one with the door open. Once you feel settled in please join us back here at 6:00 p.m. tonight." With that I turned to walk away, but I felt a finger on my shoulder, stopping me short. Turning around, I saw L rather close to my face, observing me. It was strange, but I tried to remain unphazed.

"I like that nasty look in your eyes." That was rather strange to say, and I didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or feel insulted.

"Oh, and about your name." My name? Of course, I should've known. L was wanted and feared by many. There was a reason he was called L, and L only.

"How do you like CL? CL seems fitting for you." CL? That would take some getting used to.

"CL's fine." I spoke up for the first time.

"Good. From now on you will be known as CL, and you will tell noone your real name." He said it with severity in his voice, and I could tell that Jessica would be just some other name. I couldn't even react to it.

"Why CL though?"

"Because we already have a J, unfortunately." He said it as though he were commenting on the weather. With that I turned around and begin to walk up the oak steps to the upstairs area. Sure enough, there was a door wide open next to a door slightly cracked. As I walked by the door that was cracked, compared to all the other closed doors, I could hear a faint beeping and a slight crunch. The inside was dark although I could faintly make out two figures through the glow of a TV placed on the floor. One of the two figures were on what I'd guess a couch, while the other was on floor in front of the TV making clicking noises. I think he was playing a video game. I realized I was staring but before I could take one step a voice came from the figure sitting on the couch.

"Curious?" The voice was deep, obviously male, and almost mocking.

"Yeah." I said it with my own peircing tone.

"Hey, when you get unpacked or whatever come play with me, you look a lot like a gamer. I'm Matt, that's Mello. Call him Mells, he hates it."

"Yeah sure. I'm-"

"CL. I know." Said "Mello"

"You were listening?"

"Yeah." He said it the same way I had first replied to him.

Our rooms were close together, so I just tossed my bag on the floor of my room and went inside Matt and Mello's room. Opening the door the light poured in and I was able to get a better look at the two boys. Matt had boyish features, swooping brown hair with a black and white striped longsleeved shirt (what a coincidence) and blue plaid pants. Mello, however, looked way more mature. He had golden blonde hair, much darker than mine, and icy blue eyes. He had a black longsleeved shirt that looked exactly like L's, and black pants. He brought a chocolate bar up to his mouth, and I could a few foil wrappers on the floor beside him with a cardboard box beside him. he noticed me staring and raised his eyebrows. I did the same as him and shut the door behind me. He bent his head down and the chocolate bar snapped with a loud crack. I slightly jumped at the unexpected sound and narrowed my eyes at him. He smirked and narrowed his eyes at me. Icy blue matched with icy blue. Our staredown was interrupted by a controller being shoved in my face. Peeling my gaze away from Mello I took the controller in hand and sat next to Matt crosslegged.

"Hey, check it out, matching shirts." He tugged at his shirt, which was exactly like mine in almost everyway. Mine just showed most of my shoulder. I smirked.

"Guess so." Not even 2 seconds later came that crack again, and I jumped once more. I could practically hear him smirk.

"She's not used to your addiction yet. Try to refrain from eating chocolate like a madman for a while, kay?"

"Yeah Mells." I smirked, even though he couldn't see it.

"All the more reason to do it," Said Mello nonchalantly, though he still sounded slightly irritated. "...and don't call me that." Within five seconds he was at the very edge of the couch, leaning over the side, his face right next to mine. I could even feel his hair against my cheek. I could feel a shidder go up my back and through my skin. I'm sure Mello could feel me stiffen instantly. He didn't do anything about it, so I guess he wasn't all bad.

"What, you cold?" He asked as he took advantage of my open skin and placed a warm hand on the crook of my neck, making another shiver shoot through my body. I looked at Matt for help but he was in his own world, under a trance of his game.

"No." I said it quickly, so my voice didn't shake.

"Alright." His hand swiped across my shoulder from my neck, making me flinch noticeably. Great, now I was cold due to lack of contact, and I had goosebumps.

"Okay I'm kinda cold now." Smirking, he grabbed a blanket next to him and threw it right in my face. 


	2. Chapter 2: The mistake

HI there people who are reading this. Whether you're reading this in America or reading this through google translate (I've actually done that before), I hope you enjoy nonetheless. Reviews are always greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to PM me with what you would like to see for future chapters, or to just say hi. Sorry if there are any errors, I try my best to avoid them but honestly, I rarely even reread finished chapters.

Disclaimer: No.

...  
>...<p>

"Thanks..." I mumbled.

I pulled the blanket from my face and wrapped it tightly around my shoulders. They probably kept it so cold to keep Mello's precious chocolate from melting. I frowned and averted my eyes to the screen. There were two characters, Matt's completely destroying the enemies opposite from us. Mine was hardly doing half the damage Matt's was, but it was fun and a little addicting nonetheless. I probably would've been able to join Matt in that little world of his, had it not been for the loudly dramatic bites of Mello's chocolate. I wasn't jumping anymore, since it was constantly in the back of my mind. I still blinked, but that was it for now.

"We win." Matt seemed to have snapped out of it, and he smiled triumphantly.

"That was fast." I wasn't really sure how long we had been playing due the lights being off and the lack of working clocks, but it seemed pretty quick. Or maybe time flew by quickly in the world of Matt.

"Not really, it's been about 3 hours." Had it really been that long? Not like it really mattered anymore, I highly doubted a place like this had a curfew.

"Oh. Cool, this is a really good way to pass the time." I would definately do this again, me and Matt had quite a few things in common and we had been chatting about any random thing to pop into our heads the entire time.

"Yeah. You should probably unpack though. Just come back right away afterwords." I cracked my fingers and stretched my arms. Gaming can really make a person stiff.

"Probably. Why should I come back right away though?"

"Does it matter?" No.

"Yes."

"We have your schedule, summer break's almost over, afterall." Mello spoke up from his place on the couch, the box of chocolate signifigantly less. He had a book in one hand, the obvious chocolate bar in the other. His eyes were glued to the book, though I'm pretty sure it was in a different language.

"Fine." Why question why they had my schedule? They proabably just took it from my room before I got here. Did they always do that? I contemplated this for a little bit as I discarded the blanket on the couch and quietly closed the door behind me to a crack.

"Don't take too long." Matt said behind his shoulder before completely zoning out again.

I went back to my room and took a look at it for the first time. It was pretty plain, white walls and black furniture. I grabbed my bag and dropped it on the bed. The bed had enough room for two people to lay down comfortably, which was way more than I was used to. I jammed my clothes into the dresser drawer, setting everything else on the table at the side of my room. The table had two small drawers, so I figured I could put some of the more 'valuable' things I owned in there. Opening the first drawer, I saw that it was already occupied. Inside of the drawer was a notebook. It looked relatively old, but not too old. Probably from the eighties or so. It had an A on the front cover, so I wondered if maybe I had gotten a book from a former resident. Immediately I started flipping through the pages ( I had virtually no respect for other people's belongings), only catching occasional sketches that were never finished. Only the very last pages had anything particularly interesting on them. The last 3 or so pages were filled with sequences of random numbers with dashes in between each letter, and spaces between each "word". It was in paragraph form, so obviously this was a code meant for someone to decipher. I vowed to myself right then and there that person would be me, and me only. I was going to figure this out by myself.

When I had the time, of course. Right now, I had a schedule to learn. I kept the book with me though, just in case I got bored.

"HEY, hurry up!" There was a faint voice behind one of my side walls, followed by an assemble of banging. I blinked a few times, and realized that all that time watching their TV had made my eyes rather sensitive. No wonder Matt always wore those goggles around his neck or on his head.

"Yeah." I muttered too quietly for them to hear. I took one last look around the room and strode to the door. The banging stopped, but it didn't take me long to realize how low in patience the two of them were.

I whipped my door open and almost jumped out of my skin at the figure in front of me. It was just Matt, but the lack of social interaction between these past few weeks left me a bit more vulnerable than I was comfortable with. I relaxed a little, and looked up at him. He was about Mello's height, maybe even taller. That still meant he was almost a head taller than me.

"Sorry, but I gotta go...take care of some things down stairs. Mello will help you though." I tried not to let the dissapointment show on my face. Luckily for me, I was one heck of an actress.

"Yeah, sure." He waved and left down the hall. Mello was the last person I wanted to spend an hour or so with, but what choice did I have? I've been in much worse situations than this by far.

It took me two steps to get to Mello and Matt's room, which could be really good or really bad. I didn't open right away. I guess I was just hesitant to face those cold eyes of his. Were mine like that? I hoped so. I had a small feeling that not many people picked on Mello. He was extremely lean, but had some muscle on his arms and I'm pretty sure he isn't afraid to use it.

"Are you coming in or will you just stand there?" The familiar deep voice of Mello rang out from the door in front of me. Once more it was him that snapped me back to reality. Why I was daydreaming when I was only two inches away from a door that could be violently swung open at anytime was beyond me. I took a few steps back at the thought. The doors open outwards, afterall.

"Well?" That same voice asked from behind the door. I guess I was spacing out again. I've been doing that a lot lately, and to my horror it's mainly been about Mello.

...

I sat across from Mello as he explained our classes and who to stay wary of if I were ever to be up to anything. There were even some students he told me I should be careful of.

"Are you scared of them, Mells?" I asked him once he told me of a particular group who mainly lived in the exercise room.

"They don't talk to me. I think their intimidated." He smirked at this, and even though that sounded totally self-conceited I had to believe him. He didn't look intimidating at all (and I mean AT ALL), but his presence was almost scary. It was strange, but simple. He was just one of those people you stay away from. Which is strange, now that I think of it...

"So are you going to let me call you Mells now?" It's not that Mello was long or anything, I just wanted to be able to call him that and not get a kick to the face. I'd feel like I'd have power over others. Of course, even he said no, I'd still call him that. Ever since Matt said it, it seemed to stick with me.

"You wouldn't stop if I told you not to." He was right, that I couldn't deny.

But I had much more pressing questions that still lingered in my brain.

"Oh okay... so do you always do this with new kids?" This question has been nagging me for a while, and I figured I should just ask Mello instead of Matt. He was anything but pleasant, but at least he was modest.

"Do what?" That also meant he was incredibly difficult. I figured not saying anything at all would be best. I looked up at him and raised my eyebrows.

"Obviously, you're not stupid." I said after a while of intense staring. He glowered, but replied.

"No." I don't know why he was being so stubborn about it, it was just a question afterall.

"Okay." As though he of all people were going to go into detail. There was no reason for me to push further.

After Mello had finished explaining all of the details that came with the schedule I returned back to my room. Right now I was currently working on the puzzle I found in the back of my new journal. It wasn't too difficult at first, just start with the small words and work from there. For example, a is the smallest word in the entire english dictionary. An wasn't much longer, and it only came before words that start with a vowel. I kept an extra sheet of paper next of me to write down all of the letters to their matching numbers. The only reason why I had to do this is that the numbers chosen had absolutely no relevence to the actual alphebet, and I found to be completely random. This was probably the most difficult thing about it, other than the fact that I had no idea whose this originally belonged to. And since it wasn't mine, I'd never be 100% sure I was right. Nor would I have any beforehand knowledge to have any clue on what this could possibly say.

Oh well, it was probably just something to ease a former resident's mind. Like practice, this was my practice.

Eventually I heard a knock on the door, and I hid the journal and pen underneath my bed sheets. I'm not sure who could possibly want my attention at this time of night. It was incredibly late for anyone to be up.

"It's incredibly late for anyone to be up." The familiar tone was one I was quickly getting used to, and as much as I'd hate to admit, it was kind of attractive. I sighed, but eventually left my bed and walked silently to the door. I walked a little bit slower on purpose, maybe he would get impatient and leave.

"Then why are you up so late?" As I opened the door, I could clearly see he had just started to leave but returned to his original place infront of me once he heard my voice.

"Studying." Studying? Someone as high and mighty as him had to study? I refrained from laughing.

"Studying? Hmm, I just assumed you were at the very top." Wasn't that why he was so intimidating? Or was I the only one who saw him as that?

"I am. Just not as high up as I should be." His eyes narrowed when he said this, and I wondered how I'm supposed to respond. I guess that was a slightly sensitive topic for him. Why, I had no idea. I know I wouldn't really care what my rank was.

"You're not number 1?" I don't know why I was putting him in such high regards, but he just seemed like he was the smartest.

"You thought I was number 1 without hardly knowing me?" He smirked, and I'm sure I was only adding to his probable massive ego.

"Well, you would normally be correct, but as of lately I've fallen below that." His tone was menacing when he said the last part, and it slightly frightened me. No, wait, frightened wasn't the word.

"...Why?" I"m sure we were getting totally off topic, but I couldn't care less. I wanted to know.

He visibly tensed, and I knew that he wasn't thinking when he said the next part.

"It's all that bigheaded Near's fault. He plays everything like a game, and I let my emotions get in the way." My heart panged at the sound of his voice, like he was hurt, sad, longing and angry. So angry. I was so surprised that he would say something like that to me. Something so...raw.

Eventually his face matched my own shocked one. He had realized his mistake, he had realized that he had shown me something I was never meant to see. I was now forced to realize something;

His heart wasn't as cold as I thought it was... he had shown me one of the most cherished, and most dangerous of all human emotion.

He had shown me vulnerablitilty.

...

...

OKAY. So that's how the story got it's name. School starts super soon, but hopefully that'll spark up inspiration. In fact, writings just might get more frequent. Well, I would deeply enjoy reviews. To my very core.

Sorry if it's short, next chapter will probably be longer and more eventful. Probably.


	3. Chapter 3: News

/2009/07/06/minzy-really-knows-how-to-hit-the-beat-that-block/ use that url for a better picture of CL's new shirt! Sorry if it's cheesy, I just love 2NE1. (just remember that the mouth is different, and minus the fists)

Hi guys, new chapter, sorry if this one sucks way more than the previous ones, it'll get better, I pumice.

Special shout out to Frogata, who is officially my favorite Aussie! Because, you know, I know sooo many Australians (1). ENJOY, and on with the story. Sorry if it's short, next one will be longer. This time for sure. ;)

...  
>...<p>

"I bet Near's less attractive." Wow, I was stupid. Okay, I said that quietly enough. Maybe he didn't hear me...

"According to you." For the first time I heard him laugh and, fake or not, it was a great relief. He was standing outside of my door in the hallway. I just noticed that he had something black in his hand, and it looked like a bag.

"... Did you have something for me?" After he stopped laughing I pointed at the thing he was holding in his hand. The moonlight had finally filtered through the windows, and I was able to see much more clearly.

"...Yeah. Matt wanted to give you this. He said he doesn't want people to get the wrong idea." He eventually stopped laughing and threw me a black bag with something light inside, I'm guessing it was a peice of frabric.

"Oh, okay. Thanks." The air between us was awkward, and I started to wonder just what the heck that would mean for me. I had been secretly hoping I could rely on those two when they had us all partner up in class, to sit by at luch, to play video games with until the time passed. Did I just ruin all of that?

I turned to look at him, and his eyes were now downcast. I nodded, and closed the door swiftly. When I didn't hear the small bang of the door like usual, I slowly turned my head.

He had caught it with his foot, keeping it open. I reopened the door, only to find him cockily standing tall. One hand on his hip, the other holding a very much forgotten half eaten chocolate bar in his other. His gaze was off to the upper right, most likely to avoid me.

"... Huh?" I asked stupidly. His gaze finally reverted back to me.

"School starts tomorrow. You have your first three periods with Matt. First comes breakfast though, he'll take you to the cafeteria since you're still pretty new." He pointed at the bag on my bed, "Try that out tomorrow, see if you like it." I beamed at his words, but tried to refrain from showing just how happy I was. Despite Matt not being there, I was actually excited. I wanted to see just how intimidating Matt appeared to others.

I nodded and I watched him stroll casually back to his and Matt's room.

...

...

"Shhhhhhhhhhh..." I moaned my quiet plea to the loud beeping originating from under the bed. The alarm clock had been angrily shoved underneath the bed due to the obnoxious light it illumionated. I usually can't sleep unless I'm surrounded by utter darkness.

I got up eventually and checked the time. I had about 15 minutes until breakfast. My eyes found the black bag Mello gave me last night and I realized it was probably a shirt of some sorts. Matt and I wore the same shirt, so of course people would think something was up.

Inside the bag was a white shirt with two large crosses on the breast area and a red 'smile' shape that was crooked and bent out of shape. Overall it looked like a sadistic smiley face, but I loved it regardless.

I whipped my shirt off and replaced it with the new shirt Matt had gotten me. I put my thigh high black, purple, and white diamond socks on and a pair of black shorts. The left sock had a red and yellow stripe a few inches below my upper thigh. Matt obviously didn't know my size, for the shirt went down pass my black shorts. My hair was growing out longer now and I figured I'd just keep it down. I didn't care if there were a few strays, this is an orphanage for Pete's sake.

...

I heard a few knocks on my door, must be Matt. I walked over and opened the door.

"Breakfast is way too early." I said as Imet the much taller boy at my door and followed him down the hallway to the cafeteria.

"Maybe you should go to sleep earlier." Trust me I've tried, but old habbits never die.

"I've always fallen asleep around that time, that's the one thing I want to keep normal." It was true, everything was going to change, whether I wanted it to or not.

"Okay, just as long as you keep your grades up enough to not get kicked out when exams come and you get your rank." Oh yeah, my rank. I wonder what that was going to be like... Maybe I'm just arrogant, but Matt really got my hopes up for at least top ten. I'm smart, but wasn't everybody else?

"Hey CL... this is gonna sound weird but... have you ever killed a person?" Huh? I didn't like the sound of that one bit. No, he was probably just trying to physche me out. Just remind stoic, as usual.

"No, have you?" Oh god I was praying for him to say no. Please, please, please.

"Hehe, no. But that might have to change when we get older you know... L's no exception, he's killed people- not directly- but still, I know that. You should know that too."

"Yeah I figured. I think I could handle it. Kill one, save... more than one." That was a half-assed answer but I'm sure Matt got what I was trying to tell him.

"That's what L says, actually. Only he says it a bit better." I chuckled at this. Matt smiled at me, and I truly thought I could trust this guy. I know I haven't known him for more than like, a week or so, but he seemed legitimately trustworthy.

"I'm sure he does, but you get what I'm saying." I knew he did, and I knew he would be able to handle it. He had the biggest selection of M rated video games I've ever seen, and it wasn't M for anything provacotive.

"The thing is, there are some people who have really great potential... but they just can't handle taking a life." I could believe that. As much as I hate to admit it, it was probably more common in the girls.

"It sure doesn't sound easy... unless you have a major grudge against someone." I flinched when I thought of Mello and Near, whoever that is.

"I bet it get's easy after the first time. Like a way of life." We probably sounded like monsters, or at least criminally insane. Talking as though taking a life could potentionally enjoyable would make most people turn their heads in disgust. To make things worse, we both laughed.

"I like you." Matt grinned at me and I smiled at his goofy face. But then -for some reason- I thought of Mello and my expression vanished. ...  
>...<p>

We finally got down into the cafeteria and I was impressed. After lining up and getting our food the crowd surrounding the table Matt and Mello usually sat at practically split into two just for us to comfortably walk through.

"It's like Moses parting the red sea!" I whispered to Matt.

"I know. You should what it's like when Mello's here. You'll do that tomorrow."

"Speaking of Mello, how come he's not already here?"

"Guess." I moaned.

"Is he really-"

"Yep." Matt cut me off, he already knew what I was going to say.

"I can't believe he skips breakfast just to study. No, actually, I do believe that. Does he ever relax?" I already knew the answer to that.

"Actually you'll really get to see him break out tonight. You just have to promise to be up for anything." Wow was that shady.

"Yeah, definately." As long as it wasn't life threatening, I was in for it.

"Cool. I guess Mello was right then." Mello? Wasn't Matt the one who trusted me?

"Mello?"

"Yeah, he said you'd be up for anything. I was skeptical, though."

"Well he is second for a reason." How would he know?

"Oh? You know he's second?" Goodbye top ten.

"He told me he was second, but that was it." Why was I lying about our conversation?

"Oh yeah. First is Near," he pointed somewhere to my left, "...Mello really dislikes him."

"You mean that albino sheep is number one?" I stared at the silverhaired kid twirling a peice of his hair, his arms full of toys and puzzles. Matt laughed at my first impression.

"Mello calls him those all the time. He really can't stand him, ya know." I know. I mean, no, I had no idea.

"Oh?"

"He was first for a little bit... and he was pretty happy. But then Near came along and ruined it for him. He dropped down to second. Things have never been the same, as cheesy as that sounds."

"Oh." Mello had a very tough exterior. I wasn't surprised that he had left out the fact that he had been absolutely mortified after that.

"Don't worry about him though. He'll be fine. He always is." Yeah, right.

"But, why is being number one so important to him?"

"... That's something Mello should tell you." If he told me, I'd have to tell him.

"I get that. So what about you?" Oh god... was I ready to actually tell that to someone? Especially someone I hardly know?

"You first." I smirked and Matt just shook his head.

"Touche!" He exclaimed from the other side of the table. I guess he was just as uncomfortable with this as I was.

"Oh yeah, about tonight..." What? What was happening tonight?

"You're bunking with us!"


	4. Chapter 4: New Girl

HEEYO, all I have to say regarding the ending, DARAMA BOMB!

Disclaimer: :I

Time goes by really slowly, the radio playing quietly the only thing giving life to the dull classroom. Matt was right, I had a lot of classes with either him or Mello. This, however, was teh one I had by myself. All the girls in this class have already developed tight knit cliques, and they didn't seem very open to invite anyone else. That was fine by me, they were considered the dumbest of the smartest. I was told they had the lowest ranks so far, and took Wammys as a joke.  
>I was still new here, so I didn't have a rank yet. We'd be getting those next week.<p>

As for the special announcement by Matt this morning, there was a new kid coming tonight and all of the girl's rooms were completely jampacked. So, she would get my room and I'd have to share a room with Mate and Mello. They were the only boys who only had 2 people bunking. Fine by me, Matt seemed pretty awesome, in my opinion. Mello on the other hand, he was- and still is- intimidating and cold. But, that could really come in handy.

Trying to become the next L automatically put everyone at Wammy's lives in danger. Which is why L himself is putting those with "mean looks" in special training. Except Near, who was apparently "too young". Whatever.

I was excited though, they were going to teach us how to shoot, streetfighting tactics, and others, but my main focus was those two. Since that included private training, I would be getting pulled out of next period for this, I was even more ecstatic. My next period was gym, and with special training, I wouldn't really be needing that.

"Now, what if the person is mentally ill? What would you do then?" Our History teacher finally captured my attention, for once. Right now we were discussing Capital Punishment, specifically if we were with or against death penalties. She had written all of the things we had to keep in mind on the board, and her last one really got to me.

'Mentally ill- altered reality'

Altered reality... where people who suffer a mental illness see, hear, or feel things that aren't actually there. Some choose to fight those voices, while others act impulsively on them, doing the bidding of something that doesn't exist. Or does it? Does it truly not exist if someone still hears it, sees it, or feels it? If one of those voices tell a little girl to kill someone, or else they'll kill the little girl, who is really to blame?

"CL, what do you think they should do?"

"You can't punish a voice." No, duh you can't.

"So, do you let them just walk away like nothing happened?"

"I'd send them to an institution. If they feel too much guilt and try to take their own life, then I'd give them the death penalty." Harsh? Maybe. My version of justice was probably not what many would actually call justice, but really, what is justice?

"Okay, that works too." The teacher said, shrugging her shoulders. I doubted she agreed with me, I hardly agreed with me on that one. ...,,,...

"Please excuse CL to the front doors." The fuzzy sound of an aging man buzzed through the loudspeaker. My teacher nodded in my direction, and Matt and exchanged smirks.

"I'll bring her her books." I could hear Matt say as I left the room.

Walking down the hallways, I glanced around at all of the rooms throughout the hallways and the classrooms that lined them. Eventually I came across one with the door open, and Mello sitting right next to the door. I stopped in my tracks, and stared at the blonde. He hadn't noticed me, and I watched the sharp edge of his jaw turn as he turned his head the oppisite of my direction. He had a really sharp jaw, now that I look at it.

I blinked and shook my head. What the heck was wrong with me... as in seriously, what the heck. Why am I looking at some guys jaw when I'm about to learn how to streetfight? And why Mello's, of all people. Do I do this often, and this is just the first time I've noticed? Does he notice? No, no, he couldn't have noticed. Keep walking.

I walked a little faster than usual, until I made my way to the stairs. Down below, there was a man with a buzz cut and a black suit. He ushered for me to go outside with him. Outside was a shiny black car, one that looked brand new.

"We'll be there in a few minutes." The man said as he buckled his seat belt in the front seat. Yes sir.  
>...,,,,...<p>

"Very well done! We'll be able to have some fun with you, you might even learn some new tricks!" A different man beamed at the target he had me shooting at for around an hour now.

The target started out around nine feet away from me. After teaching me the basics of shooting, they had me shoot at it until nearly all of my shots hid it square in the target. After I had managed to do that, they pulled the target one foot away, making it ten feet from me. Once more they had me shoot until almost all of my shots hit the red dot in the middle. Pulling it away another foot, they had me shoot. The pattern went on and on until eventually I had got to 25 feet away. They said I had natural talent, which overjoyed me to the fullest, but my hands were cramping and my arms were getting tired. Very tired.

"Well, you did exceedingly well, but now I think it's time you get back to Wammy's. Here are some books, study up." He dropped a few thick books into my tiring arms, making me flinch a little bit.

"Thanks..." I said, managing a smile. The man with the buzz cut, William, I came to know, ushered me to follow him to his car again.

I dropped my books on my lap as I sat down on the leather seat, cracking my fingers for desperate relief. I just told myself I'd get used to it, it was just a little difficult right now because the only thing I did for hand excercises was playing Matt's video games. Which, I should really start doing again. ...,,,...

"I knew you'd do well, you did good when it came to the shooting round of that one game whose title I'd already forgotten." Said Matt as he flipped through my new books.

"Video games and reality are a tad different, Matt." I said as I joined him on the sofa and looked through the diagrams of various pistols.

"I've played so many video games that sometimes I see things." That jerked me a bit back to the previous events of that day.

"Altered reality..." I whispered as my thoughts drifted off the pages of the book.

"Hm?"

"Nothing." I said as I shook my head. Matt just shrugged before tossing the books carelessly into one of the cardboard boxes and propped it up on his shoulder.

We were in the 'process' of moving my stuff to their room. Mello was currently intruding in everything I owned, which included my journals. I didn't care, they were mainly just sketches of things that could hardly be called things. Heck, half of the pages consisted of a little black scribble. Words were probably hard to find in there.

I, of course, kept my 'A' journal with my clothing, which he obviously had no care about. It wasn't long before he tossed (quite literally) into a different cardboard box.

"What's the use of keeping a journal when all you write down are just scribbles?" He almost seemed frusterated he couldn't find any of my intimate secrets.

"You mean you didn't see the words within the scribbles?" I asked, cocking my head to the side slightly. Taking me seriously, he looked back at the notebook.

"Hn. There were no words on those pages." He said as he collapsed on my bad, folding his hands behind his head.

"Sorry I don't publicly share my intimate secrets." Like I'd share them him, especially. Psh, please.

"Whatever. They'll come out sooner or later." What the heck was that supposed to mean?

"Okay. We'll see." They'll consider me crazy if I share my past with them.  
>...,,,...<p>

Once again Matt and myself were gaming uncontrollably, bumping into eachother to make the other lose balance, making contorted faces when something goes either very wrong or very right, and Mello just silently enjoying the way he made me jump with his damned chocolate bar when I least expected that dreaded cracking noise.

Mello started to tense behind us and I whirled around and looked at him.

"Hey, what's up?" He seemed surprised to see me snap out of the World of Matt to address his obvious uncomfortability.

"How'd you know?" I don't know how I noticed him tense up when he was five behind me and I was staring unmovingly at the T.V.

"Uh-"

"Oh, hello. I'm the new girl. My name is Skarla, what's yours?" A soft voice matched with a small face appeared from behind the door. Me and Mello whipped our heads in her direction, while Matt kept on gaming, lost in an alternate universe once more.

"It doesn't matter to you. You won't be using them." Mello said darkly and almost protectively. Which I was thankful for. But I promised myself that would be the only time I would ever be thanful for Mello.

"But it does matter, everyone's name matters. Besides, you look really smart and cool!" Now she opened the door fully, and I flinched at the sudden flash of light. Mello looked shocked more than anything. I probably looked scornful.

The girl was just a little bit shorter than me, with shoulder length hair brown hair in perfect curls around her head. She had on a red shirt that showed her shoulders, and a jean skirt that went down to her mid thighs and black stockings going up to just above her knees. Overall she looked absolutely beautiful, and as she opened her eyes I could see they were a perfect cerulean green.

"That's Mello, that's CL, and I'm Matt." Matt had snapped out of it, and Mello gave him a stern look. Were we the only ones who had any sense?

"Mello?" she said with a gasp, "... what a cool name! You must be really smart, too!" His ego's big enough, don't inflate it.

"Hn." was all he had to say, narrowing his eyes at the beaming girl who obviously didn't get the hint. Oh, and glad to know you think my name is cool. And thanks for saying I look smart. Really, I appreciate that.

"Wow, I LOVE this game!" She said as she skipped over to Matt, crouching down in between us.

"Wanna play?" Matt asked. Curse his friendly personality and vulnerability to cute girls.

"Can I?" She pleaded, and I knew Matt was helpless at this point.

"Sure go ahead." He said as he offered her his controller. I glanced at him suspiciously.

"Oh, !" She grinned, but instead of taking Matt's controller she practically yanked MY controller out of MY hands and I sat there with my mouth hanging open.

Okay girl, you just crossed into enemy territory. And the look in Mello's eyes said the same. 


	5. Chapter 5: Death to the heart

I know I'm spitting out chapters of this story left to right, but that's only because I love this story and just felt like writing after the last chapter. So I wrote another chapter. And no, this is not going to turn out a SkylaxMello fanfic. Even I hate her, and she's my own character. I love everyone who reviewed and added this to their alerts. I serioulsy love those like, a lot.

Disclaimer: Hmph.

ENJOY! (sorry for errors.)  
>...,,,...<p>

The girl had replaced my character on the game, although I suppose I needed a bit of a break. My eyes were starting to tingle again. I stood up and and walked over to the couch. I'm not gonna lie, I was slightly hurt. The last person I want to seek comfort in is Mello, but the fact that he was just as weirded out as I was made me feel a little better. I sat down next to him and saw the girl look back from hearing the slight squeak of the couch. Her hands stopped twirling the buttons and she had a strange look in her eyes. Obviously, she wasn't happy. She looked like she was enjoying herself but I knew better. Spending all of my life reading one's expressions had enabled me to very well know that she was not all happy with me.

"Oh, CL is it? You have some boxes left in your room, you might want to move them." She beamed at me, or at least that would appear to be the case for anyone else. But I knew she was just beaming at herself. And by the way Mello's fists clenched I knew that he was thinking the same. The only one who seemed utterly oblivious was Matt. But he was stuck in his own world.

"Oh, sorry. Never meant to itrude in your space. I'll go move them right away." What I really meant was, 'Hey. You intruded in my space. Move them yourself.'

I went to my room anyway, and stayed there. I needed to think. It was just one of those times where you have to get away from everyone and just think.

Skyla probably didn't even mean anything by it. She was probably just trying to be nice. Yeah, that's why she ripped my skin off when she grabbed for that controller. I scowled when I saw the long scratch on the side of hand from her way-too-long nails. I'm not sure why, but I didn't like this girl one bit. Who did she think she was? Just walking in here and introducing herself like she owned the place. Like she was the one who was to bunk with Matt and Mello. Like she owned that player 2 controller.

"Hey." Mello walked in my- I mean SKYLA'S- room. No scratch that, it was mine. And it would be mine until I say otherwise.

"Hey." I said, sounding much more meloncholy than I had liked.

"You alright?" He sounded like he didn't really care, but it still kinda took me aback.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said trying to shake it off.

"No you're not. Don't lie to me."

"... Sorry." Wait what? Why was I sorry? Man am I a softy...

"Don't apalogize, either."

"It won't happen again."

"Good." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, looking irritated.

"...You like Skyla?" I tried not to hope for a specific answer. I couldn't help it.

"No. She's fake. She shouldn't have come in here. Nobody walks in my room on their first day without an invite." I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding in. I hated it when he didn't dissapoint.

"I feel the same." That's all I could really say.

A soft silence washed over us, and I grew slightly uncomfortable the more he glanced at me. The perplexed look on his face made me feel self consciense.

He surprised me by jumping off the bed and grabbing my hand, not very gently, but being careful to avoid the scratch.

"She did this?" He asked as he pulled my arm harshly to inspect my scratch.

"It's just a scratch..." I muttered. But, now that I look at it, it had potential to scar.

"I told you not to lie to me." Mello said darkly.

"Don't tell what to do." I said in the same dark tone. To my surprised, he smirked, letting go of my hand. I gave him a weird look.

"You didn't apalogize." He expained. I nodded.

"I hate her." I said with my gaze on the floor, not expecting a reply. More like a witty remark.

"Me too." Huh? Iooked at him with a bewildered look on my face as he sprawled himself on MY bed.

"Really?" I cursed myself for sounding hopeful.

"Yeah." Stupid Mello and his stupid unintentional sweetness.

"Don't lie to me." I tried to sound as dark as Mello had, but I just couldn't.

"I won't." He said lightly, smirking. Or was that a smile? No, that was a smirk. He was probably just happy there was someone who was more of a wreck than he was.

"Kay." Once more, I sounded much more depressed than I would have liked.

Once more there was a silence. But it was a comfortable silence this time.

"Mello? Mello you've been gone for a while. Here, you should come play with us!"

"No. Now go awa-"

"Come on silly! You will come won't you..." I could only stare at her as she ran up to Mello, grabbed his arm, and yanked him across the room and into the hallway. Way to ruin a potential moment. Woah, wait a minute... I was sensing a pattern here. And I didn't like it.

Today we all recieved our ranks since we were now 2 weeks into school. There was a list with names matched with faces in one of the main classrooms. I had never been happier.

I was in fifth place! That was NOT what I was expecting. The one in fourth place was a boy who's name was scrawled too messily to be legible. He had a tan face with freckles. His eyes were a soft brown, and he had long brown hair like Matt's. I'm not gonna lie, he was kinda cute. But that wasn't important right now.

In front of him was Matt, and in front of him was Mello. Sure enough, "the albino sheep" Near was in first. Props to him, I had no reason to dislike some guy I didn't know.  
>...,,,...<p>

The new girl didn't get a rank yet, only being here for three days. But those three days were putting me on edge. Matt and I had stopped gaming altogether, Skyla completely replacing me. Instead, I would sit next to Mello and we would silently think about what the heck to do to get her out of here.

Today I wanted to experiment a little, so I gently elbowed his arm and motioned at Skyla as he was about to take a bite out of his chocolate bar. He nodded, getting the hint.

CRACK.

Nothing. Even I shuddered. I put my head down in shame. I hated her.  
>...,,,...<p>

I was finally moved completely in Matt and Mello's room, with the exception of a box of clothes still in Skyla's room. Yeah, I gave that room up to her now.

Right now I was in our room, laying on the couch opposite of Mello's couch. Literally, it was HIS couch. He even slept there.

"Guys don't share a bed. That's just the bottom line." Is what they told me, which I believed.

There was a knock on our door, which was becoming much more frequent. My relaxation was over.

"Come in." Matt said lazily as he clicked a few buttons, already connecting the player 2 controller. They already knew eachother's favorite characters. How cute is that, It thought with utter disgust.

Gah, I could never not-like Matt. He was just... no.

"Hi Matt and Mello! CL." I almost stopped breathing when she came in with MY/A's journal.

"I saw the puzzle in the back of the book. It wasn't finished so I guessed you were having trouble with it. I finished it for you though, so it's fine." She tossed me quite carelessly the journal, beamed at Mello and sat down closely by Matt. Skimming through the pages, I saw that she really had finished it.

A little piece of my heart died that day.  
>...,,,...<p>

It's been one week since Skyla moved in. Today she was getting her rank. As soon as school ended I strolled over to the classroom. The list was in the same place, as it always is.

1. Near 2. Mello (it still made me flinch)  
>3. Matt 4. Skyla 5. CL 6. - (it was still illegible)<p>

Another little piece died that day.  
>...,,,...<p>

"Hey Mello... you look a little down today, is everything alright?" Skyla's soft voice sincerely asked Mello.

"I'm fine." He snarled. I guess he checked the ranks that day.

"Mello... I'll always be there to listen." She said before bounding away to her room. Mello's eye twitched. But not in a bad way.

There goes another little piece. I'm not sure why though.  
>...,,,...<p>

"Oh my gosh you guys, guess what?"

"What?" Matt asked, always playing along.

"I had gun training today, and they said they've never seen anyone with so much natural talent!" I felt my eyes burn, and this time it wasn't the T.V.

"Hey, good job." Said Matt, grinning.

"I know! Hey Mello, do you think I did well?"

"Sure."

"Oooh, that means so much coming from you! You're so great and smart and cool!" Like I said before, his ego is big enough, quite inflating it!

"Sure."

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow!" She exclaimed as she skipped up to Mello, wrapped her arms around him and giggled. I left the same time she did, crossing into my part of the room as the door closed behind her. I stopped in my tracks around the corner, swearing I could hear Matt say to Mello,

"You so have a thing for her."

"Hmm."

That wasn't a no. 


	6. Chapter 6: Ouch

CL: HEY SKYLA! I BET YOU'RE A MAY SUE! HAH!

Sorry when I read this I couldn't help but laugh xD Oh, how I love my PM buddies...

Disclaimer: No.

ENJOY!  
>...,,,...<p>

It's been 1 week and 3 days since Skyla's been here. I still don't like her, Matt likes her more than ever, and Mello hates her. At least, I think he hates her. That's what he tells me every single day. I'm not sure why he tells me that on a daily basis, but he does.

"Do you know how much I hate her?" He looks over at me from where he's sitting leaned over on the couch, his eyes narrowed down on me. He had his hands folded in a triangular form, making him look almost like a professional mafia boss.

"Yeah, you tell me on a daily basis." I say as I sit up from my laying position on the couch opposite of his.

"Whatever." He says as he leans back into the cushions, crossing his arms and glaring at the T.V.

"Trust me, I don't mind at all. It's almost reassuring." I lean forward and cross my arms, following Mello's gaze and settling on the small girl twirling the buttons on her controller next to Matt.

Mello smirked at me, as he does often. Despite it being almost insulting, one learns to get used to it. Actually, I think it's kind of growing on me.

"Oh no, I almost forgot! Roger asked me to help him clean up the toy room, I'd better get going!" The brunette spoke up from her spot on the floor (where she belongs) and bounded up on her feet. She knelt down and hugged Matt, then skipped over to Mello and gave him a one-sided hug. He closed his eyes in annoyance over her shoulder and it was my turn to smirk at him. That was a rare occurence, and I would jump at it any chance I got.

"Bye CL." She said almost darkly as she twitched her fingers at me, most likely an effortless wave. Emphasis on effortless. She darted out of the room and I could hear her light footsteps for a while until eventually fading down the corridor.

"Hm, helping Roger clean. Isn't she a sweetheart?" Said Matt, who obviously liked her quite a bit. Like every other cute girl.

"Yeah sure whatever." mumbled Mello.

"Adorable." I said with a fake smile that Matt already knew was fake.

Now that I was finally relaxed I laid down on my back again. Mello let out a frusterated sigh and stood up. I knew he was going down to the library again. He always did around this time of day. And he wouldn't get back until the very late, or early, hours of the day.

I sighed just thinking about it. He gave me a questionable glance.  
>...,,,...<p>

I had shooting practice today, which was perfect for getting out my frustrations.

I was practicing 35 yards away already, and I had already gotten used to the loud banging noise the gun provided.

I was told 35 yards was superb for how long I had been practicing for. That made me happy, since shooting was the only thing where I truly felt happy. The only time I could really let loose. Nothing felt better than pulling that trigger. Nothing.

Of course, with my luck, Skyla gets to come with me. How fun, right? Wrong. I was just glad she'd get to watch me totally dominate my target. I didn't care how much natural talent she had. Natural talent's nothing compared with experience. Or at least, that's what I thought.

"Target number 42, Skyla. You're breezing through this!" Said one of our instructors, cutting through me like a knife through butter.

"Really? Oh that's absolutely wonderful!" Chirped the shorter girl, followed by her infamous giggles.

Something snapped inside me that very moment. She was no longer just an annoyance, she was a force to wreckened with. I decided that very day that I would wreck her. That I would overcome her in not only rank, but this as well. This was no longer just a useful hobby, this was going to become a perfected skill of mine. I WILL learn to shoot the most difficult of targets, without mercy. I will learn to use my ammo wisely, and to understand the tenchinques of each and every bullet.

Today I realized something. The only way to get a perfect shot every time was to put the fiercest determination behind every shot.

"Target number 42, CL. You're really improving all of a sudden!" Yeah, improvement. That was my first step.

"Target number 47 Skyla, keep it coming."

"Target number 45 CL."

"Target number 51 Skyla."

"Target number 49, CL. We'll pick you up from target number 49 on Thurday." I let out a frusterated breath. I was so close! Next time, I promised myself. Next time...

"Hmp. I guess I'm really good if I can beat you so quickly when you've had more training. Or maybe it's not MY skill that's making you falter." She smiled and darted off in her frilly purple jacket. I shoved my hands in the pocket of my red hoodie and resisted the urge to pull the trigger on a whole new target.  
>...,,,...<p>

"So how was gun practice today ladies?" Matt asked with a grin at the both of us. Matt had to be the coolest guy ever, but only when Skyla wasn't around. But anyways, really? Gun practice? That's not what it's called.

"It's shooting rounds." I mumbled, crossing over to my room. Mello and Matt can go ahead and converse with her all they want, I'm writing in my journal. Yep, that's right, I'm writing in my journal.

I couldn't bring myself to write anything about my personal life, so instead I just looked over A's little message. It was finished, all right. Only what I now realize is that there's a continuation. This is what it says so far:

I told B my name today. I feel like I can trust him. He's been acting weird, though.  
>When I told him my name he almost acted like he already knew it. His eyes can sometimes look different though. Being the first person at Wammy's, there's tons of pressure for me to become the next L. It's starting to become too much.<p>

I've won, I think to myself as I turn the page. The page with the following message had a number on the back of it, which of course Skyla failed to notice. She's not perfect afterall, that in itself is perfect.

426- The number on the back of the page. 426... I'm guessing it's a room number. I'll have to check that out sometime.

"Hey. I'm staying here until she leaves." Mello turned the corner and walked over, collapsing on my bed next to me. He always did act like everything I owned belonged to him as well. It was kind of annoying, but I can't really do much about it.

"Understandable." I muttered. For some reason, my frustration seemed to die down to some degree when he came in.

"So what made you so mad? And don't lie to me." Again with the demands. "She's better than me. At everything." That was the only thing I told him, fearing that talking about everything that happened would just rekindle old emotions.

"Yeah, I've been noticing with the ranks. She switches around a lot with that one guy whose name I can't read, but you never manage to beat her." Yeah. I've realized.

"I know. I'm just glad she never manages to beat you or Matt." If she did that, I wouldn't stand a chance.

"I'd die." I smiled at Mello's serious words. I knew she'd never be able to beat him of all people, although I could still see Matt stepping down for her. Matt doesn't care about becoming L. I guess that's why Mello and Matt get along so well.

"But if you die, than they might bunk me and Skyla together. Than we'd both die." I practically shuddered a the thought.

"Let's just not die." Smart, like always.

"That's a good idea."

There was another break of silence, and I allowed to just cool down during this time. Mello only remained laying down, scrolling through the pages of my journal, still trying to find something personal. He's been doing this for a while now, scanning through my personal items, trying to pick out something 'useful'. I've always had my suspicions about it, but he never found anything, and I'm sure he has his reasons.

"... Did you get sick of Skyla?" I asked, trying to distract him.

"I'm always sick of Skyla. If it weren't for Matt she'd be ruined."

"You think we'd ruin her?"

"Definately. She wouldn't last five seconds in this house without Matt. I can already tell this place is way worse than what she's used to."

"Hm. I wonder what type of lifestyle she had before this place."

"She was probably pampered like royalty. That's why her clothes are so expensive."

"How do you know her clothes her expensive?"

"She brags about them constantly." I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Hah, clothes aren't going to get her anywhere."

"She has nothing going for her. She wouldn't ever be able to kill someone. Ever." That made me feel better.

"Obviously. Learning to shoot is useless." Why have the ability when you can't use it to full potential? That's why I had to beat her.

"Do you think you'd be able to kill a person?"

"Yeah. And I'm not montrous for saying so. Killing or capturing the guilty to save the innocent. That's how L operates, graceful or not." Usually L tells of the cases where he sends them to jail with a life sentence, no parole. However, he's been known to kill those whom he thinks would actually be able to escape jail, or are simply too difficult to capture alive.

"So what's your opinion of justice?" What's with all the questions? Why do you keep asking me questions?

"There's a thin line between justice and evil. I still don't know what my true ideals or mottos are, but I'm going to enforce them once I do."

"They wouldn't be worth anything if you didn't enforce them."

"Then I guess they'll mean something." Just then I heard a loud bang, and the sound of footsteps rushing towards my door. No luck, apparently Mello already locked the door.

"Mello? I really want you to game with me!" Skyla's weak little voice piped from behind the door, knocking quietly.

"No." His answer was short and to the point. I sat back down on the bed indian style.

"Pleeease? I really want to hang out with you some more!" Mello sat there motionless, and the short conversation between him and Matt re-entered my mind.

'You soo like her.'

'Hmm.'

I decided to have some fun with this.

"I think she wants to kiss you the most." I smirked at him again, and he only whirled his head around and stared at me, looking baffled. I guess he really did like her, seeing as how his cheeks very slightly changed a little bit pinker after a few minutes of intense staring.

"Shut up." He snarled, and I had to recoil. His eyes were harsh and cold, which they always were, though not nearly this intense.

"Come on! Let's go, I'm not leaving until you play with me!" Skyla, at this point, had picked the lock with one of her bobby pins, and now proceded in grabbing Mello's arm and pulling him out the door.

He gave me one last look before following her willingly outside. Willingly. Like he wanted to go with her. I narrowed my eyes at him in disgust. So much for "I hate her!"

He slammed the door behind him, making me wince slightly. Once I got over my moment of shock, I decided to go leave and check the ranks. At least it gave me something to do.

I opened the door quietly and stepped out into the main room. Mello and Skyla were gaming, Skyla so close she was practically leaning on his shoulder. Matt, for once, was sitting on the couch, and waved at me. I smiled and waved back at the one and only brunette who I actually liked in this room.

"Where ya goin' CL?" Asked Skyla's chipper voice. I was surprised she was actually pretending to care.

"Who cares?"

...Ouch, Mello.  
>...,,,...<p>

Spoiler Alert! (Not really): The guy's whose name nobody can read finally comes in to play! I swear, he's the only other OC I'm adding. PROMISE. PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I love them... they make me happy. 


	7. Chapter 7: Fog

I stomped down the stairs almost violently. Nobody was playing or messing around in the hallways, probably because they were sleeping in their dorms. It was a bit past midnight, and with Roger gone I wanted to relaz somewhere other than my small and confined room. I peeked around the corner of the "rank room", and almost gasped at the sight of another person. I've checked almost everyday at this exact time and I've never seen another person before. Although I only got a look at the back of his head he actually looked somewhat familiar. I decided to be brave, and coughed to get his attention. He jumped slightly and whirled around, a smile gracing his lips.

He had longish brown hair (similar to Matts), and chocolate brown eyes. He was tanner than me even, and I had been totally baked by the sun from shooting rounds. He was tall, maybe even more so than Mello. He was wearing a green jersey and baggy pants. What caught me most though, was the pink and tan colored bracelet he had on his wrist. It looked... tribal? It was like a braid wrapped around his wrist.

It didn't take me long to realize he was the guy whose name noone could read. And yes, he was still pretty cute.

"You're up pretty late." He spoke up and moved to give me a clear passageway to the rank list.

"So are you." I countered, smirking. I walked over to the rank list and sure enough, Near was first, Mello second, Matt third, Whatever His Name Was in fourth, Skyla fifth, and myself sixth.

"That one chick stole my spot, you know. I don't really appreciate that." He and Skyla had been swapping ranks for a while now, but he had reclaimed his rightful place. I didn't even know his name and we already found something we had in common: we both dislike, to say the least, Skyla.

"I know what you mean. I just wish I could beat her for once. So far she's even beat me in shooting rounds. I just can't stand that." I ranted a little more and he just stood there and nodded.

"I could help you a little if you want. Most people think I don't really care about my rank, but I really do. And I can help you out... if you want." Should I take him up on his offer? He had been in front of Skyla for a whole week now...

"Sure, that'd be cool. I'm CL, but you probably already knew that." I said.

"I'm Ratchet, not like you'd be able to tell." Ratchet said. I laughed and glanced back at the scribble for a signature.

"Well I'd better get going. Nice chatting with you though." I said as I left the room, Ratchet following me shortly.

"Yeah totally. Can't wait for the study date." He said as he dissapeared down the darkening corridor.

I nodded even though he couldn't see me and made my way back to the staircase. It was even darker now than when I left, the moonlight leaking in from the windows my only source of light. Which was actually kind of nice. I walked with my eyes glued to my bare feet and looked up once I noticed a figure appear in one of the shadows.

I looked up, and saw Mello standing cockily with one hand on his hip and three thick looking books in his other, eyes closed.

"Took you quite a while just to check the ranks." He said as he walked down the steps.

"You're kind of late for your average study jam session today. What took you?" He paused at the same step I was on, now standing only a foot away from my side. Neither of us looked at eachother.

"You seem awfully desperate, taking tutoring from a stranger." Was he spying on me? And why did he sound so irritated?

"You seem awfully desperate to surpass Near. He's what? 2 years your junior?" I smirked as I glanced at him sideways, his eyes open and his brows knitted together. He deserved that.

"He's the same age as Skyla, actually." Okay, he had me there.

"So then you help me."

"Gladly."

"Fine."

"Fine."

We both kept walking, before myself pausing at the top of the staircase and Mello stopping at the bottom. I guess we were both so caught up in the moment we kind of forgot what we were saying, and now just realized it.

Great, I get to go to bed even later/earlier now. I hated the half of me that felt excited.  
>...,,,...<p>

I couldn't get to sleep that night, so instead I just laid there with the thin covers up to my belly button, and my hands behind my head to create a more comfortable pillow. I heard the door open and close, most likely Mello. Skyla had decided to crash in our room, and took Matt's bed, while Matt took the couch. Mello's couch was being replaced due to the terrible condition. I smiled at the thought of him having to sleep on the floor. He's lucky we're on break and we don't have to wake up all early.

I checked the time, and it was really late. Closing my eyes, I could instantly feel blissful relief as soon as my eyes closed and I fluttered away into dreamland.

It lasted for a few good hours. But that was all.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"HEY. Open up... I'm tired... no place to sleep... hey."

"Mello... go sleep on the floor..." I droned.

"No... "

"Mello."

"Come on... please." I'd never heard him say please unless it was sarcastic. That was enough to make me drag out of my bed and stumble onto the doorframe, which I was unaware Mello was leaning on.

To anyone else it would've seemed like we were drunk or something. It's amazing what tiredness can do to the residents here. They have our brains working so hard during the daytime that we were so drained we could hardly think during the night.

As soon as I opened the door he practically fell on me out of exhaustion, until eventually we were both able to stumble to the bed. We both collapsed, his much bigger frame trapping me down to the mattress. He was warm, and I could feel my eyes threatening to close. I tried to push him off me, but I just couldn't. Sleep seemed too peaceful to postpone.

Besides, he was much warmer than the thin sheets we were given here.

I moaned, strangely chilled. Blinking, I sat up and looked around, falling back down quickly once I remembered the events of last night. I sighed, blowing a piece of my fringe away from my eye in the process. I closed my eyes again, yet sleep refused to come. I could tell from the light outside of my window that it was morning, and breakfast had most likely already started.

"Hey, you're gonna be late for breakfast, hurry up!" Matt's voice called from behind the unlocked door. Getting up and dressed, I cringed as I opened the door and thought of how things were going to be between Mello and myself. Awkward? Maybe.

Opening the door though, I saw noone but Matt.

"'Bout time. Skyla already dragged Mello downstairs, though he didn't really put up much of a fight." Matt laughed to himself and I laughed with him, too exhausted to care anymore.

"Hm." Matt smirked, obviously pleased that he wasn't the only one lacking sleep lately.

"Late night?" He asked me as we walked down the long hallway to the cafeteria.

"Sort of." By sort of, I meant staying up to the early hours of dawn studying the books my shooting instructor gave me.

"Shooting practice today?" Matt was always interested in guns, but only the virtual ones.

"Yeah, freestyle." I hoped my short answers didn't get too irritating.

"Which meeeans?" Had Skyla NOT informed him of this already? What did those two even have in common anyways?

"It means we can use the shooting grounds any way we want because the instructors aren't going to come this time. We have it once every week." And Skyla was going to lose. She just had to.

"Cool. Skyla told me she's been practicing." Of course she has.

"Huh." With that I stormed off ahead of him. ...,,,...

"What a traitor." I mumbled under my breath as I continued to slide my tray down the metal rim, collecting what I wanted to eat for breakfast, ending up with some eggs, a few sausage links, and some hashbrowns.

Mello and Skyla were sitting where Matt and I had sat a few weeks before. I rolled my eyes as she batted her eyelashes and smiled sweetly. There was no way I was sitting with her of all people.

"Hey CL, come sit with me!" I looked up from my tray at Ratchet, sitting at the table behind the two. I smirked, seeing he was just as feared as Mello was by his peers.

"You have no idea how convenient this is." I smiled as I sat indian style on at the cafeteria table.

"Oh? So we still on our study date?" Um... about that.

"You mean li-"

"For gun practice. I'm not a big studying for acedamics guy." Yet you're in fourth place. Respect.

"O-oh. Yeah that'd be awesome."

"Alright. So what target you on?"

"49." Was that impressive? I hoped so.

"Already? Nice. I'm on 150, but I've been doing this a bit longer." 150? I liked this guy, he could beat Skyla in almost EVERYTHING. How cool was that?

"Wow."

"Hey CL," Skyla, be quiet. "... Is he going to come to practice with us?"

"Yep." Ratchet answered for me.

"Oh." She said almost darkly.

"She doesn't like you?" I asked him when I saw her eyes narrow severely, only to widen back to normal when she faced Mello.

"No way. It's cause I keep screwing her up when she's trying to shoot and so she misses. It's really funny, actually." I just had to laugh at that.

"Why hadn't I thought of that?" I said, still laughing.

After my laughter died down I immediately went back to scarfing down my food, only to be interrupted by Mello to do study. When I agreed to have him help me study I guess I never really thought that I'd have to go study every single time he did.

I sighed, but complied.

"Gotta go." I said to Ratchet, who only nodded and waved me away.  
>...,,,...<p>

"Matt jacked the ranking system in Roger's computer, he wrote down all of the subjects Skyla's beating you in." said Mello. I knew Matt's hacking skills were good, but good enough to break down Wammy's system? No wonder he was in third.

"Geez... so how many subjects does she have me beat in?" I was praying that it wasn't too many, though it probably was.

"All of them. Except writing. Somehow you have her beaten in that. And that's her specialty." Remind me to laugh in her face later, for being more talented than her. At least, in one category. But still, how did he know writing was her specialty?

"So she told you she like writing?"

"Yeah, she showed me some. She is really good. So you better show me some of yours, too." My writing was dark, confusing, sometimes disturbing, and completely impossible to understand. Sometimes I felt that not even I could comprehend what I wrote. Not because it was complicated, but because it was just gibberish.

"No, I'd rather not." He's been through every single one of my journals, besides the one our writing teacher makes us keep locked up in her closet. She makes us write in them everyday, and we can write whatever we want in them. She promises she doesn't read them, unless we let her. I let her, because I know she won't be able to truly know how I feel via writing. She says that's the whole point of the excercise, though. To write whatever we feel like, and by doing so we write down how we feel, even if what we write has nothing to do with feelings in general.

I know she doesn't understand what I write, because everytime I go down for a snack or something and pass by her window, I see her hands entangled in her hair, her brows knitted together in frustration and confusion, her eyes carefully scanning my notebook. I smirk.

"Why? you should know better than to just reveal your personal life to someone you've just met." Oh please, don't go all serious on me now of all times.

"Yeah I know. I'm not stupid."

"I know that."

"Then quit acting like you don't."

"Why can't you just be quiet?"

"Why can't you just... just..." I trailed off, having nothing to pin him against.

"Yeah, see? Now come on, get back to studying." With that, we went back to scanning through the pages of our books, Mello focusing on math in particular. Apparently that was Near's best subject.

We studied for what seemed like hours, and looking at the clock I could see that it actually had been hours. We'd taken a few breaks, but ultimately we studied for literally the entire day. And that, was seriously draining.

"We should get some sleep." Mello said while closing his particularly thick math book. I closed my own book on different types of bullets (property of Ratchet, I owed him) and followed him down the hallway and up the stairs.

"What time is it?" I asked him groggily, noticing his sagging posture.

"Around the same time I came in your room last night." How could say that so casually? And was it really that late?

"Wha?" I asked him, taken aback.

"Yeah..." We finally reached the top of the stairs, right when I felt just about ready to callapse. Call it a gut feeling, but I was pretty sure Mello wasn't going to just carry me the rest of the way there.

"Finally." I muttered, opening the door. To my horror, Matt was crashed on the couch, again, which could only mean one thing. Skyla was staying over again.

"Come on..." Mello muttered grimly, pushing the small of my back in the direction of my room.

Sleep beckoned me, and the next events were all a haze. As though a type of fog had covered my mind, I collapsed on the spot, about 15 feet away from my room. I guess I would be the one sleeping on the floor tonight. Or at least that's what I thought at the moment.

I could feel surprisingly strong arms wrap around my stomache, my knees just inches away from the floor. The fog lifted a little bit, and I managed to help Mello pull the two of us (he actually started tripping after a little while) to my bed.

Once again, we were in the same position we'd been in last night.

And once again, he was so stupidly warm. And so stupidly comfortable. 


	8. Chapter 8: Hand Motions

Hate Skyla? No? Will you will. Already hate her? Get ready to hate her even more.

Disclaimer: No.

ENJOY ...,,,...

"Mmm. Get off." The fog that had been corrupting my disfunctioning mind had finally lifted as I finally woke up. Mello was still in the same spot he was when we fell asleep, and he was a bit too selfish to get off of me just for my comfort.

"Hm. No." I expected that answer.

"Please?"

"Mph." Aparrently that meant no. That left me one option: to try and push him off until I'm able to sneak out and most likely end up on the floor, but no longer underneath him nonetheless.

Bringing my hands up to his chest, which was causing me breathing issues, I pushed as hard as I could, and was successful in being able to sneak out and fall onto the cold, hard floor. The lovely fresh air I was met with made it all worth it, although I felt suddenly chilled. He was too warm for my own comfort.

"I'm okay with sleeping with yo- for having you fall asleep in my bed, but shouldn't you fall asleep on the actual matress?" I blushed slightly at my mistake, but he didn't seem to notice. Of course, I know he did.

"Hn." I figured he was still half asleep, so I left and tried to see if breakfast, or lunch, was still being served.

"Yo, lunch is done, but I brought the two of you a sandwitch anyways." Matt's voice popped up from behind me down the hallway, and I sighed. Now I had to wait until dinner for an actual meal. I don't know what I'd do without Matt around.

"Thanks Matt, you have know idea how much I needed this." I took the wrapped sandwitch graciously, and followed him back to the room.

"Hi Matt! How's Mello doin'?" Skyla's soft voice popped out from behind the door, her eyes full of hope. Her face said she already knew though. Mine, however, was full of disgust that someone who made it into Wammys would actually play stupid.

"He's in the room, like always. You can come over if you want." If it weren't for that sanwitch Matt gave me, I would've given him a death glare. Even though, I could never stay mad at Matt for more than 2 seconds.

"I'd love too!" With that, she skipped off. I scowled, as I had no choice but to follow.

Mello was still in my room, so I covered for him and said he was studying. I only covered for him because Skyla would've killed me if she knew he had slept with me- slept in my bed.

"You didn't have to cover for me." Once more we were in my room, while Skyla and Matt played video games next door.

"I don't want Skyla to kill me." I don't want anyone to kill me, but Skyla especially.

"Naturally." I really disliked having to reply to short answers like that, mainly because I don't know what to say.

"... Maybe we should study a little bit earlier today." I muttered, suddenly embarrased.

"No, I think what we've been doing is fine." Of course you do, Mello. You're not the one who feels like they have asthma attacks whenever the person on top of them rolls over.

"Yeah well I don't."

"Then tell Skyla she should stop hogging Matt's bed."

"You're the one who doesn't have a place to sleep."

"Obviously, I do."

I was about to retort with something clever, but Skyla, being Skyla, decided to interrupt our little argeument.

"Hey CL- Mello? What are you doing here? I thought you were studying... unless..." She trailed off, disgust in her cobult green eyes.

"I was studying, but then I came back." I could see Skyla's grip on the side of the door tighten. Her jaw clenched, and her knees trembled. She looked rageful.

"Oh. I see what's going on." What was that supposed to mean, and why was she so rageful?"  
>...,,,...<p>

After what happened earlier today I was more than thankful for shooting practice to take my mind off things. This time Skyla and myself got to go with Ratchet. I was anxious to see Ratchet add to Skyla's moodswings. Plus, it was freestyle, so we got to go to the backgrounds and just go crazy. The background was the large concrete backyard behind the practice building. It was built almost like an obstacle course, and was the perfect place to go paintballing. It was littered with dummies, large adn small crates, targets and whatnot.

They let us shoot whatever we want, as long as we don't shoot eachother. With three people though, the only way you'd get shot was if someone purposefully wanted to shoot you. You weren't completely unsupervised though, there were still people in the building.

"Hey CL, we should see how many targets we can get a bullseye. Whoever gets the most wins! No lying!" Yelled Ratchet as we all split up, pistols in hands.

"Alright, I may not be as experieced but I'll still beat you!" No I won't, but I can act like I could.

"You wish!"

When I said large, I meant LARGE. I could faintly hear the sound of bullets hitting thier targets over my own. I was doing even better than I thought I would.

"Whooo! Hey CL, I'm totally dominating you, ya know!" Ratchet's voice was way closer than I figured, and by instinct I whirled around behind me. All I could see what a crate with a few bullet holes in it's target. I snuck around the crate, only to see Ratchet peeking around the corner of the opposite side. Smiling, I crept up quietly behind him.

"BOO!" He jumps and swings around grinning, gun pointed at me.

"Whoa, now. It's just CL." He put the gun down, laughing.

"I know. Haven't seen Skyla around though, I hope she got kidnapped." I laughed, feeling strangely happy.

"Me too. But maybe she's plotting out our deaths." I shuddered at how possible that actually was.

"She'd only be able to kill one of us, the other would get revenge."

"Agreed." A moment later Ratchet tensed, his head peeking out from behind the crate.

"Did you hear that?" He asked me more quietly than usual.

"Hear what? I didn't hear anything." Just then, I heard faint footsteps coming from the opposite side.

"Wait, nevermind." I peeked my head from around the opposite corner of the crate, and immediately recoiled back around it as I felt something whiz by the side of my back. How dare she!

"Ratchet!" I hissed/whispered.

"What, are you okay?" I'm sure he must've noticed the color completely drain from my face.

"I think she actually shot at me... at my frikkin neck!" I didn't hear the bang of the gun but that was definitely not my imagination.

"Oh my god. C'mon let's get out of here." He ran the opposite way from where the bullet had originated from, being careful not to run too fast for me to catch up. This kid was an athlete!

"Did we make it?" I asked him, panting. The skinny jeans were starting to lose their comfort, and my jacket was starting to get a bit too warm.

"I don't know... but that chicks gone crazy! I'm pretty sure she tried shooting at me a few times too."

"No... joke." I said in between pants. We'd been running for what seemed like 5 minutes and we were still in the middle of the background.

"Come on, I think she's catching up." He grabbed my wrist to help me, and the slight smacking of footsteps from behind us gave me a little more motivation. Eventually we made it to a large crate, and knowing she was behind us, Ratchet took one corner of the crate while I took the other. I don't know how many bullets I had left, but I prayed I had at least one.

"CL, I'm going to check things out. Take my back." said Ratchet.

"Okay." I said, moving to his corner as he snuck out and ran as fast as he could to the middle of the grounds. I watched him carefully, poking my head out of the corner a little bit more. In seconds the grounds started as a fun little game to a battlefield of three. I kept my eye on his back, making sure to glance at my blind spot every few seconds.

Suddenly, Ratchet started to make strange hand motions at me and I craned my neck to see what the heck he was motioning towards. His hands were waving at me wildly, and it took me almost a minute before I realized what he was doing: motioning behind me. My blind spot.

I realized too late. My eyes widened as I felt a searing pain in my thigh, and my vision started to go fuzzy. I could faintly feel my head drop on the concrete, but practically all of my senses were being overwritten by the throbbing pain of my leg. I tried to scream, not like that would help, but I just couldn't. My hearing stopped, and I wondered if maybe I was going deaf. I was unable to finish my thoughs, though, because my vision faded to black along with my conscienceness.

The worst part? I could die of blood loss any second now. 


	9. Chapter 9: Missing Gap

So ummm.. yeah. New chapter out, woot! Ahah, anyways, sorry if this one took a little longer than the rest, I was a tad busy this week. And yes, this is a bit of a shorter chapter. My apologies. Sorry for any errors, I'm not one for rereading. Whoops.

Disclaimer: DUH.

ENJOY ...,,,...

I groaned groggily, discomfort seeping into my body. My eyes felt like a hundred pounds, unable to open. My lower body was numb, so much that I could be doing the splits and not know it. I fought my eyelids to open, and blinked a little bit. All I could make was a white blur. I tried to remember where I was, for this did not look familiar at all. It smelled like cleaning products, which I actually didn't mind that much usually. I wrinkled my nose, though, once I picked up the smell of vinegar. I hated that smell.

Once the word 'hate' cruised through my mind, it all came rushing back. Ratchet, banging, the sound of running footsteps, crates, the feel of pavement and the feel of the bullet... the bullet.

She had shot me. My worst enemy had shot me. In the thigh. And it hurt. I think I was crying by the time I actually passed out.

Speaking of passing out, shouldn't I be dead? Or maybe I was overreacting, and the bullet had just nicked me...

No, that was definitely not a nick. It was smack in the middle of my thigh, where I felt the most pain.

Oh, someones coming inside... from what I could make out it was a middle aged man, short and wavy black hair with a few grey streaks. He had on a pair of thick rimmed glasses and a long white coat. He must be my doctor.

"Hello, miss. Are you awake yet?" He asked me kindly. My vision was far too off to let me see if it was genuine or not. I really hoped it wouldn't be permanent.

"... Yeah." I croaked, my voice much more cracked than what even I had expected.

"Good. Now, this may be a little hard to hear, but I want you to try and stay calm." I'd stay calm even if you jabbed a needle in my neck, the lack of mobility in my legs didn't give me much of a choice.

"...Mm." I nodded as much as I could manage, quickly realizing my whole body was sore, even my neck. Maybe they really had jabbed a needle there.

"Now, you were... shot and hit, two days ago. It hit you mid thigh, and you lost a lot of... blood from that." He talked slowly and nodded slightly, allowing me to digest at a comfortable pace.

"... Your young friend was able to find you some help before... it could do too much damage," He paused, enabling me to recognize Ratchet as my saviour. Well, sort of.

"Now, we have not yet identified the bullet, but we L is working on the case as we speak." WHAT?

"Sky.. sky... pistol.." My body wasn't working nearly as fast as my mind, and my sentence came out slurred and desperate.

"You should be able to go outside either later today, or early tomorrow. And you can easily see the sky through the window," He pointed to the window above my bed, and I mentally face palmed. If only my speech was just a little bit better.

"... And the bullet that punctured you was not that of a pistol, but a revolver, as L decided. Neither of your friends owned a bullet of that callibur." Skyla... didn't do it? Then who in the world did?

"Ok." I swallowed the news, which hit almost as badly as the actual bullet. Okay, not quite, but still.

"I leave you to your sleep then." He started walking towards the white sterile door, before stopping arrubtedly as though he forgot something.

"Oh, and uh, if you want, I can leave the door open a crack for your friends... you're definitely healthy enough." Friends? Did he mean Ratchet? Ratchet was my only friend. Right?

"...Doc?" I stopped him again, and he looked back. "... What about my head?" I faintly remember my head hitting the concrete. That didn't sound good, even in my mind.

"You.. did suffer some slight head trauma, but nothing too serious. Your memory should have a few gaps, but those should recover soon." I wanted to ask him how soon exactly 'soon' was, but figured I was pestering him a bit much. Wammy's won't keep things from you even if you know you can't handle them. That's just how they operated, and if you were a resident here then you learned to accept it.

"Kay." I muttered, just barely loud enough for him to hear.

"Well, goodnight, miss." Goodnight? It's not morning?  
>...,,,...<p>

"Hey, CL, you up?" That casual tone... no doubt that was Ratchet. Or Matt, I usually knew which one, but sometimes it was hard to specify.

"...No." I said, my voice sounding much better than it had before.

"Kay, great. So, do you know who did it to you?"

"Apparently, not." My mood was gloomy enough, if this was anybody else it'd be even gloomier.

"Oh. Well, L's got a really important case to work on right now and so he won't be able to get to yours right away. But, ya know, he's L, so when he does get to it he'll definitely bring whoever it was to justice." I already knew that, he was L afterall.

"... Yeah, I know."

"Oh yeah, and we get a really long Christmas break so you don't have to worry about make up work or anything like that."

"Good." I said, allowing him to help me sit up on my bed. Which, by the way, I was unable to sleep in. I don't know why either. I guessed it had something to do with my "gapping memory" the doc had told me about.

"Well, I'll leave you alone for now. You can walk and everything though, right?"

"Yeah." I said, wincing at the slight pain of hopping off of the bed.

"Kay, cool. You gonna eat with us today?" By "us", he meant Matt and Mello. And, unfortunately, Skyla. I bet she was enjoying me not being there, that was her plan right from the start, afterall. Or, at least, that's what I thought.

"No, the doc wants me to eat by myself. He thinks eating in the cafeteria would be too stressful or something." I said, making my voice sound low and gruffy like the docs at "too stressful".

"Gah, it's no fun with you not around! Even Mello's getting grumpier. And without your little banters he's been studying even more. Or, I think he has. He hasn't been getting nearly enough sleep as he used to, and even that was hardly enough." Mello was lacking sleep too... maybe that was connected somehow. Well, okay, I doubt it.

"No fun? I wasn't aware I was the fun one."

"Uh, we're the fun ones," said Ratchet, gesturing between him and I. "Of course, Skyla actually seems pretty cool." Was he crazy?

He actually started laughing, though, until he abrubtedly stopped.

"Just kidding I still hate her." He said seriously, smiling again when I started laughing.  
>...,,,...<p>

That night I started to think about Mello, and how he and Skyla were the only ones who hadn't visited me yet. I didn't really care, as it's only been a week.

But it still kind of hurt.

Not like I expected him to, though. If he wasn't messing around with Matt he was studying. He doesn't have time for petty leasures such as visiting me.

I'm not sure where I stand quite yet, in Mello's perspective. Whether I was a friend, a close friend, or just another nuiscence in his everyday life. Heck, I didn't even know where he stood in my perspective.

My eyes widened in surprise by the sound of footsteps, rather quick ones at that, from outside the door. A ray of yellow light filtered inside of the room. I blinked at the sudden light, wincing at the short lived sting. I blinked a few times, before risking a glance at the doorway. There was a figure standing in the doorway, whose details were deminished by his quick shutting of the door, turning him into a shadow.

My eyes, which had far adjusted to the dark, could easily see the dark circles under his eyes. It was Mello, the object of my previous thoughts, with his signature three books and chocolate bar. Or, it used to be a chocolate bar.

"Gee, haven't seen you in a while." I didn't mean to make my voice so bitter, it's not like I was all that mad or anything. Besides, I kinda expected him not to visit me.

"Whatever." Yeah, whatever. That seemed to be his catchphrase lately.

As he got closer, I could clearly see the dark circles under his eyes. It sort of reminded me of L, although not to such an extent.

"Mello. You study too much." I said once he sat down next to me on the bed, his eyes cold and distant. Nothing new there, they were always like that.

"And you don't study enough. Why do you think you lose to Skyla every week?" His words matched his eyes. Nothing new.

"I'm starting to care less and less about rank. I just want to beat Skyla." Skyla. It's like I couldn't go three seconds without hearing that girl's name.

"That's stupid. And you're still studying with me." He said darkly, turning around to face me.

"Yeah, I know." I smiled, for some reason. I hated studying by myself, but Mello made it... enjoyable, in a way. Not like that meant anything.

"I wouldn't be smiling if I just got shot." And just like that, said smile vanished, and was replaced with a look that could kill.

"It depends how short your version of 'just' is." I said sarcastically, smirking.

"Well, I'm tired, so I'm going to sleep." He said with a shrug, throwing the foil wrapper of the previous chocolate bar successfully into the trash can near my bed.

"Alrig- Mff." My eyes widened, once he turned and fell down on top of me. Something clicked in my brain, and I realized that this was the reason I couldn't sleep well. Could this qualify as an addiction?

Either way, teh slow rise and fall of his chest made me fall asleep almost instantly.  
>...,,,...<p>

"Skyla's gonna be pissed." said Matt, grinning.

How did I get in this situation? Well, Mello slept in, Matt came by, and decided to make this as awkward as possible. He succeeded.

"Matt please, she's already shot me once."

"She did not! L, of all people, said it wasn't her." said Matt, coming to her defense. It wasn't his fault, cute girls were his weakness.

"Wasn't her directly." Mello countered. I smirked to myself.

"... Anyways," Matt said, raising his eyebrows and ignoring Mello, "Skyla's gonna be pissed."

"We've established that. But since you're not completely awful, she doesn't have to know." I smiled, hoping that would help.

"Mm... as good as it sounds to see what she would do, I think I'll keep that to myself." As I've mentioned a thousands times in the past, you just can't hate this guy.

"... So are you going to do this every night?"

"No." Mello replied almost instantly. 'Liar,' I thought to myself.

"Really? 'Cause I'm gonna check every morning."

"Matt, you sleep in till noon. I get up before six." Before six? How did he get up before six? And how would Near be able to actually beat him if he was studying for literally the entire day?

"Maybe I should get Skyla to do it." With that, Mello stood up and left, but not before wacking Matt on the arm a little bit harder than necessary.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Matt scooted his chair closer and put his hands on both sides of his face, in a mocking mannor.

"Aww, isn't he the cutest!" said Matt in a pitch so high I didn't even know his voice could go to such extremes.

"No." I said plainly, giving Matt a look.

"Oh shush. I'm sure you love it when he kissed you." No Matt, or cour- wait a minute, WHAT?

"Just joking. That's a cute red though." He swiftly scooted threre out of his chair and departed, his soft whistling echoing throughout the halls.  
>...,,,... <p>


	10. Chapter 10: Physics and Math

Hi guys! I love each and every one of you who reviews, regardless! If you really really really want to chat with a fellow author or even if you don't have any stories up, feel free to PM me anytime! (I always reply. Because I honestly have nothing better to do)

ANYWAYS, you can get on with the story now. You know, unless you skipped this entire thing. (I so don't blame you. I've been known to do that)

I do not own. Anything. Whatsoever. Nobody does, and I'm not even sure why these disclaimer things even exist on a website like this. Obviously, nobody here would own anything. Including me. Except our stories. But whatever.

ENJOY ...,,,...

"Where are you from, anyways?" Ratchet and I had been in another one of our in depth conversations and when that happens any question goes. And usually, their completely and utterly random.

"Brooklyn, dropped the accent." I admitted, shuddering at the memories that came with it.

"You had an accent?" Ratchet laughed, and though my accent was minimal at the time it was still present. Funny, I dropped it before I even come here, for reasons I'd forgotten already.

"Yeah, it's kinda embarassing to even bring that up now..." I smiled, scratching the back of my head and laughing along with him.

"That's great... I'm from Pennsylvania, by the way."

"Really? You have any siblings?" I probably knew more about him than I did about my own sister.

"Nope, only child." This surprised me a little bit actually, I always figured that he had always grown up in a house with a bunch of brothers or something...

"Huh, I always thought you had brothers or something."

"Nah, and I'm glad I didn't. Too much noise." Ratchet also has sensitive hearing, so he likes to get out of his room as much as possible. He's been here longer than Mello and Matt, though he said Mello was one of the very first to come. He said I was, too, actually.

"Mello came here soon after I did, and Matt followed a month later. For some reason though, Near was here before even me." is what he told me, and I didn't like it. Because that meant Mello was never number one. Always number two. And it killed him.

"Mello and I used to be friends, when there weren't enough people to create a rank list. Him and Matt, too." Mello? Friends? Those two words just couldn't register very well in my mind.

"Back then, he was the coolest most laidback guy I had ever met." I felt like passing out simple due to shock.

"What?" I asked stupidly, mouth hanging ajar slightly.

"I know, crazy huh? I knew that would never stay the same, though. Not when more people started coming in. Mello has always been competitive, it's only natural number one was the only rank meant for him."

"And that's when things changed." I finished for him, already knowing the direction this was taking.

"That's right. More kids came, ranks appreared, his comepetitive edge started showing. Eventually taking him over completely." I frowned. How come I couldn't have come when he sounded all... well, better?

"Oh, that sucks!" I put my head in my hands while Ratchet chuckled, understanding completely.

"Yeaaah, but he'll be back to his old self in about a week or so." ... A week or so? You mean he's not a total stuck-up prick all year around?

"... What?" Once more a stupid reply, but how was I supposed to know he had a split personality?

"Yeah I know. We talk much more in the summer, naturally."

"Huh, this is probably going to be the longest week ever." I replied, laughing slightly.

"It always is. But be careful, with the last ranks coming up, this will determine the smartest kid at Wammys for the whole summer." He said darkly, his face getting uncomfortably closer for extra effect.

"Um... okay. I'll remember that." I said, closing my eyes and smiling nervously.

"...You're kinda crossing into my personal bubble though."

"Oh. Sorry about that." he scratched the back of his head casually, acting as though he had never said what he just had.

"So... should I just ignore him?" As if he wasn't constantly on edge already. And I was lucky enough to be his roommate.

"That'll only make it worse. Just keep doing what you guys were doing and you probably won't even notice a difference." ...,,,...

It's been a week since our little chat, and nowadays I study with Mello for hours on end. I haven't noticed too many differences, which was good. He finally got his precious couch back, which I found to be way more comfortable than the old one that was starting to smell like old doritos (which were probably underneath the cushions).

It's gotten much warmer now, most of the kids were switching to shorts and even started to spend most of their time playing outside. Of course, these were the younger kids, who weren't yet ready to qualify in the ranking list. They had it easy; everyone else knew that the last week of the school year was the most important, becuase it determined your rank for the entire rest of vacation. So if you were in last place by the end of the week, you'd be in last place for the entire summer.

Not a very good way to start out your vacation.

As for me, I'm in sixth, which would be great, if Skyla was seventh or lower. Instead, she's in fifth. Ratchet had managed to knock her down a place and redeemed his rightful throne of fourth, but I still couldn't climb back up to my original placing. And it infuriates me.

"You're doing it wrong." Of course I am. But thanks for pointing it out, Mello.

"So how do I do it, then?" It was an honest question; if anyone knew math it was Mello. Physics was my strong point.

"Here." His chair squeaked as he stood up and leaned over the table. He looked stangely relaxed, like a professional tutor. I leaned back and let him scribble out my entire solution, and quickly wrote his own. What took me about 5 mintues took him around 30 seconds. And yet, when he finished, it all made sense to me.

"Oh." I was really getting into the knack of using short and stupid sayings.

"Now you write it. I'm not letting you take my credit." he added, smirking as always, leaning over again and scribbling out everything he'd just wrote.

"Yeah, okay." I said sighing, but easily rewriting what he had just covered and solving all of the other problems easily, basing each and every one of them off of his now invisible demonstration. As much as I'd hate to admit it.

"Your turn." he said after a while of not writing anything, passing the piece of paper in my direction, one undone problem suggesting that that was the one he needed help with. Him needing my help was much more rare than myself needing his, but it happened. Sometimes.

No matter what it was, it always had something to do with physics.

"You don't do it right." He said to me, after overlooking my work for a moment.

"I don't?" I honestly wouldn't have known; I don't need to pay any attention in that class. Just do the work, hand it in, stare out the window.

"No, you don't. But it's right. It's always right." The last thing he said was barely audible, but I heard it anyway.

"Oh. Huh. Sorry, that's the only way I care to know." I said. He turned to me with a puzzled look.

"It's faster. Less complicated. Not as simple. I'm going to use it." Oh wait, was I supposed to tell him every time I took his technique? Because I'm pretty sure that was probably the tenth time.

"...Ok." I said going back to my studies and pushing my glasses (I only have them because of Matt's gaming addiction, and how it's been brought down onto me. I only wear them when I study or play games. Never anywhere were there's actual people besides my roommates or Ratchet) farther on the bridge of my nose.

"Where'd you learn it." It was more of a demand than a question.

"Pshh..." I didn't know whether to tell him about Nick or not. Not sure why I wouldn't, but I guess I just didn't want to.

Mello, never one to take hints, simply raised his eyebrows.

"I don't even remember." I said quietly, continuing on with my latest assignment.

"Well, whatever." I'm pretty sure that was his favorite word. Other than "hm", which I don't really qualify a word. More like a 'don't talk to me' response.

I spared him a glance. And then another. And another.

"I learned it from my step brother. Old step brother. He's 19 now. I don't talk to him much. He's my only living relative that I know of." I mentally slapped myself for telling him everything for no apparent reason. I'm going soft.

"Old step brother?" He asked, calm as usual. It was like he already knew.

"My mom married a guy, had me and my sister, strung him dry, ditched him, married another guy who already had a son, strung him dry... you get the idea." I trailed off. I knew nothing about him, and he knew my entire life story.

"I get it." He said, not once looking up from his work, until after a few moments.

"So you're mom was a-"

"Yeah." I said quickly and nodded, cutting him off.

"Hey, so was mine." My pencil stopped immediately, my eyes slowly creeping up to his face, relaxed, casual, calm, etc.

His expressions almost never changed. Besides his smirk. That was the only indicator.

"Who knew." I said softly.

"Not your dad." He smirked.

"No." I hardly said, too busy laughing.

"Hey, yours didn't either." I said, pretending to concentrate on my assignment.

"Yeah he did." He said, shaking his head.  
>...,,,...<p>

Today was THE day. The day where everything mattered. Where everything was on the line. Needless to say, the last day of the school year. The last day of ranks.

Ratchet and I were casually walking down the staircase, where a crowd had gathered to check out the results.

"Number 23! I'm number 23!" I could see Linda, the nicest girl in this entire establishment, shout out to her friend about her new rank, which I had realized had raised two places.

"Move it, people, top tens coming through." I smiled at Ratchet, who was clearly joking. Of course, nobody else knew that.

"Yeah." He said in a fake scruffy, manly voice as soon as we made it inside the classroom and got a good look at the peice of paper where the ranks were posted.

1. Near 2. Mello 3. Matt 4. Ratchet 5. CL 6. Skyla

"She's gonna be so pissed." Ratchet said.

"I know."

"What's going on?" asked said person, standing in the doorframe.  
>...,,,...<p>

Hi. More Mello. A bit of their past. I finally have a plot idea. Sort of.

But I could use some help, so if anyone has any ideas PLEASE post them along with your review~!

Hope you liked!  
> <p>


	11. Chapter 11: Grammar

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Heard about the ranks."

"Of course."

"You did pretty well."

"So did you."

"You expected less?"

"No, not at all."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"That's not a valid answer."

"Because you're smart."

"Obviously. Or else I wouldn't be here."

"... Do you like it here?"

"I used to hate it here."

"Why?"

"Because."

"That's not a valid answer."

"Because it was like a prison."

"So what changed your mind?"

"I still think it's a prison. My mind hasn't changed."

"But you said you used to hate it here. So what happened?"

"Some... thing."

"What?"

"Just something."

"And what would that something be?"

"A... object."

"You're lying."

"And how would you know?"

"You would say AN object. Not A object."

"So? What does that prove?"

"You're always grammatically correct."

"So what was it?"

"I already told you."

"You left out some important details."

"And?"

"I want to know."

"Why?"

"Because I care."

"You suck at hiding sarcasm."

"You would patronize me if I didn't."

"Be..."

"Be what?"

"Sh."

"What? You couldn't bare to tell me to be quiet?"

"Be quiet. Shut up. Happy?"

"Was it a person? I bet it was a person."

"Your mouth twitched."

"Shut up."

"Just tell me."

"Or what?"

"What do you mean, 'or what'?"

"I don't know either."

"Yeah, a person."

"Who?"

"Like I'd tell you."

"How long ago was it?"

"What does that have anything to with?"

"I don't know, it just does."

"Whatever."

"Come on..."

"No."

"Yes."

"You can't tell me what to do, or what to say."

"Mm. Okay. Goodbye?"

"And where would you be going?"

"To hang out with Ratchet. He tells me stuff."

"Like what?"

"Things."

"What's so great about him, anyways?"

"He's funny."

"Yeah, I know that."

"So hang out with us."

"I'm studying."

"You're talking to me!"

"So?"

A conversation between CL Mels, sorry it's short.

Next chapter will be like the old one, just wanted to try something new.

I don't own Death Note. Or it's characters. 


	12. Chapter 12: Scared?

Hey guys, sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up, and I hope it was worth the wait. I'm trying to get into the Halloween spirit, but sorry if it's cheesy or whatnot. Anyways, ENJOY!

Disclaimer: Do people actually read these?  
>...,,,...<p>

"Hey, cripple, that's mine." Mello's calm voice lacked any irritation whatsoever, obviously just trying to tease me. Though my wound was almost completely forgotten, my nickname was not. I sometimes wonder whether people still even remembered how the name originated.

"My name's not cripple, blondie." He gave me a look, a smirk playing on his lips. Ratchet was right- he was a lot more laidback during break. I was thankful. Very, thankful.

"And my name's not blondie." He said lightly, leaning back on the couch and clicking away on the controller.

"You're losing." I muttered, leaning forward towards the TV. Of course he was losing, anyone going up against Matt in any kind of game would lose. His fingers stopped momentarily, his head turning to look at me disapprovingly.

"Pay attention." I reminded him, pointing my hand in the TV's direction.

"You know, how about you play? You haven't played in a while." He offered the controller and smirked.

"That's okay. I'm gonna leave soon anyways." I put my hands up defensively, but was taken aback by his sudden change in expression. His jaw tightened a bit, and his eyes flashed with something not even I could indentify.

"Where ya goin'?" Matt finally spoke up, his eyes curious.

"I'm just going to hang out with Ratchet for a while, he said he had something to show me or something." I replied honestly, standing up from my spot on the couch.

"I'll come with, it's been a while since I've seen him." said Mello, surprising me.

"Gaah, fiiiine." Matt whined, unplugging the controller.

"Why don't you get Skyla to play with you?" Mello taunted.

"Okay look, she's really cute, but she can be kinda annoying at times, ya know?" At first I thought he was just kidding, but his expression said otherwise. I blinked at him a few times, and left. He honestly just noticed.

"Good news guys, one of my roommates is finally leaving." Ratchet greeted, his hands nonchalantly placed behind his back.

"What for?" I asked.

"Too stupid, I guess." He responded, smile still on his face. I laughed lightly.

"Geez, it's about time." Mello spoke up, his hands in his pockets like usual.

"Heh, right?" Ratchet grinned wickedly, his eyes bleak with humor.

"So what's up with the whole 'you have to come meet me, there's someting I just have to show you' thing?" I asked Ratchet, doing my best impression and succeeding proudly.

"Oh, that's right! Here, follow me, it's so cool!" He put his hands up triumphantly and I followed behind him obediantly. Mello didn't follow.

"Hey, you coming?" I asked lightly, furrowing my eyebrows. His head was to the side, but his body was pointed the same way it was when Ratchet left.

"Yeah." He spoke lightly, probably the softest I had ever heard him speak. I tried to take a peek to see what he was looking at, but he quickly put his hand on the small of my back and directed me ahead. What I did manage to see, however, made me cringe. Ratchet's roomate, through the window, was with two young people, one male and one female. Most likely his new partents.  
>...,,,...<p>

"Check it out!" Ratchet, unknowing we were both much farther behind him, led us into a small room marked as Watari's. Watari, quite noticeably, had not been in here since a while back, for there were papers and files scattered across the desk and on the floor, some with dust. Cobwebs were scattered about the corners of the little room, some with trapped bits of paper.

"What's so great about it? And where did you get the key?" Mello asked, looking around.

"Hey, you!" Ratchet, completely ignoring Mello, yelled from the doorframe at Linda, who was innocently walking down the hall with a nicely done picture in hand.

"Yes?" Her soft voice asked.

"You know Matt?" He asked.

"Yes, I know of him."

"Can you go grab him for me? Tell him to come down here?"

"Of course!" She chirped, happily skipping down the hall and up the stairs.

Mello and I looked at eachother, before glancing back at Ratchet.

"Why didn't you just grab him yourself?" I asked him after Linda disappeared up the stairs.

"My brain was too occupied!" He exclaimed, giddily opening the screen of the laptop and tapping the power button.

"Yo?" Matt peeked his head through the doorway after a while, his eyes matching Ratchet's, full of mischief.

"Dude, come here." Matt grinned and leaned over Ratchet's shoulder, his eyes scanning the screen.

"You remeber?" Ratchet asked.

"Hell yeah I remember." Matt's fingers payed the keyboard, small files and documents popping up spontaneously.

"Stop, there it is!" Ratchet's frantic pointing stopped Matt from scrolling through a long list of documents and clicked on a particularly small file.

"Read that, it's awesome." He pointed at the page currently occupying the monitor. Mello scanned and page and repeated the words lazily.

"A small girl has just recently disappeared during a class fieldtrip..." He trailed off, reading the rest of it silently. It was pretty much an old article from the late 1800's about a girl who had disappeared during a class fieldtrip. It wasn't totally unusual, it's happened before.

"I don't get it." Mello said.

"Yeah, what's the relevance?" I asked them.

"Look at the address of the place they had visited." Matt pointed out, who looked just as excited at Ratchet.

"Okay, so it's close by. So what?" Mello asked.

"Did you guys even read the article?" Ratchet replied, annoyance dripping from his voice.

"Look. Closely." Matt said slowly as he pointed to two words on the screen that were written in smudged ink.

"He..Hellily... Hellily Aslum?" Mello guessed as he narrowed his eyes and tried to make out the smudged ink. Ratchet sighed.

"Hellingly Asylum." He corrected.

"An asylum?" I asked pointedly, raising my eyebrows.

"Okaay, so what?" Mello added.

"Weeeell, it's nearby," Ratchet started.

"It's open to the public even though nobody goes there anymore," Matt added.

"It's almost October,"

"And you guys are always complaining about how boring things here are soo..."

"You want to visit an insane asylum." I finished for him. Yes Matt, lets visit an insane asylum that's probably not even that scary. Please.

"Pleeeeaaase!" The guys clasped their hands together and whined, looking much more pathetic than they probably realized. I waited for Mello to say 'no', like I knew he was going to.

"I'm in. That means you are too, CL." What?

"S-since when?" I asked him, taken aback by his statement and his answer. And since when do you have such interest in ghosts? You of all people shouldn't believe in ghosts!

"What do you mean, it's always been that way." He stated, shrugging.

"So you'll do it?" They asked at the same time.

"Yeah, we'll do it. It's not like we have anything better to do." He said.

"Great! Halloween, then." Ratchet said.

"Halloween!" Matt agreed.  
>...,,,...<p>

"I'm in, that means you are too? What's that about?" I asked Mello once we were up in my room, sometime around 3 a.m.

"Yeah, of course. It's always been that way, always will be."

"Since when?" I repeated my previous question, looking down at Mello, who was, as always, laying on my bed like it was his.

"Since...always." He smirked.

"Shut up.." I trailed off, not needing to finish.

"You know, Halloween is only a week away." He said, changing the subject.

"I know." I said, laying back myself.

"Are you scared?" He sneered.

"I don't believe in stuff like that." I replied. "Do you?"

"No. Although Matt and Ratchet are probably going to try and change my mind." He said.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Oh gosh, what did you get us into?" I lauhed softly, shaking my head.

"You never objected." He whispered back. I punched him lightly on the arm.

"Yeah, well. I just hope Skyla doesn't come follow us or something."

"You wanna know what would happen if she did?" He asked me.

"What?" I asked skeptically.

"She'll get pulled down to Hell." He smirked and jokingly yanked my arm, pulling me across the bed. I shrieked accidentally, quickly covering my mouth with my free hand.

"Shut up!" He half whispered, half exclaimed.

Suddenly there was a bang down the hall, making me jump. Even Mello flinched. (or at least I think he did.)

He let go of my arm and crawling toward the door.  
>...,,,...<p>

I abruptedly stopped because I didn't want this chapter to turn out too long. It WILL be finished next week, though.

Sorry if it was so bad, I haven't written anything in quite a while now. 


	13. Chapter 13: Against the Wall

Hi. Longer chapter again. Apparently that's not a bad thing though. I hope you like it.

ENJOY

Disclaimer: I'm not going to even put these on here anymore.  
>...,,,...<p>

"What. Are you doing." Mello said it more like a demand than a question. After checking out what was making the strange noises we kept hearing we ended up in Ratchet's room. He and Matt were currently packing cameras and equipment inside a large bag along with a few snacks. Why would we need snacks?

"Packing for tomorrow, of course." How excited were these guys? And why in the world would we need to pack anything?

"We're only staying for a few hours." I stated. Matt and Ratchet looked up at eachother from the floor with a mischievious look in their eyes, and started to question their sanity.

"Actually, since Rodger doesn't care what we do for Halloween, I figured why not stay the whole night?"

"No." Mello said firmly, landing his piercing gaze on Matt. I was really glad he had eyes like those; they could make anybody do what he wanted. And they were really quite nice, too. They were icy all the way down to the pupils, like an frozen ocean. And why am I thinking about this?

"C'mon!-" Matt started, but Ratchet quickly cut him off.

"Oh well, doesn't matter. CL, you'll still go with us, right? I mean, you can't just leave your two best buds alone in an old, abondoned asylum for the whole night, right?"

"Not if it wasn't the whole night." I said with emphasis.

"Please, CL. We really need you now." Matt pleaded, actual sincerity in his eyes and in his voice.

"Well.."

"No. You guys can go by yourselves." Mello finished for me.

"I can speak for myself." I retorted.

"You're doing an awful job."

"How would you know if you won't even let me finish?"

"I just do." He said with an edge, an edge that made me shut up. It was stinging, almost. But just almost.

"I agree with CL. Now let's rebel and join up!" Matt offered. I had to laugh at that.

"Okay... I'm in. Just don't go overexaggerating things because you have a camera." I said.

"Thanks so much! Oh, and bring your gun. You'll never know." Ratchet's comment surprised me a bit, but I suppose it is open to the public, so it's not a totally crazy accusation.

"Yeah, sure." I said quietly, and turned the corner to follow Mello.

Or well, be dragged down the hallway by Mello. He seemed so angry, for some reason.

"Mello?" My question was left on deaf ears, for the next thing I knew I was slammed onto the wall next to my room.

"What didn't you understand?" He asked me, hands still firmly on my shoulders, keeping me glued to the wall.

"Understand what?" I hissed back, only to be slammed back agaisnt the wall once again. Even thought it didn't hurt too much, it still made me cringe with my injured thigh, still wrapped in bandages.

"I told you, what I say, goes." He replied, rage in his eyes.

"That's what this is about?"

"You want to spend the whole night in an insane asylum?" I flinched at his stinging words. Maybe if I just turn it into a joke...

"Heh, yeah, maybe." I said, flashing him a nervous smile.

He looked like I had just set him on fire.

"No! Shut up!" He shouted, shoving me sharply to the side, sending me flying into a door. It took me a while to register that I had rammed into the door knob as well.

Actually, my thigh did. A small crack was all I heard before I went deaf. I didn't black out. No, not this time. But I screamed. Or, at least, I'm pretty sure I screamed. I felt like screaming.

The only pain I had ever actually felt worse than this was when I actually ended up getting shot.

I felt a hand claspe around my mouth. I started to hyperventilate, slowly dissolving into heavy panting.

Embarassment surged through me. I couldn't believe I had just screamed out like that. Luckily, the doors here are soundproof, for safety of important conversations. I rubbed my eyes of the oncoming tears, feeling the hand slighlty depart.

"Sorry." I was able to mumble out, cringing at the pain that came with switching my leg position.

"Sorry? Why the hell are you apologizing?"

"Because I know you're not going to do it."

"And I'm right." And you're arrogant, selfish, ignorant...

"Yeah sure, whatever." I added uselessly, unable to put in any sarcasm. He had knelt down to his knees, eyes level to mine.

He smirked, as though he was truly pleased with himself. And he probably was.

"But I thought I told you not to apologize to me. Ever." He had nerve, that's for sure.

"Be quiet, Me-"

"I'm sorry I blew up. I hate defiance." He totally cut me off. But he apologized, and that was all that mattered.

"No, it's fi-" I let out a gasp, and heat surged through my body and up to my face. Mello had placed both of his hands beneath my shoulders and had pressed his body up against mine. I felt him slowly drag me up the wall, his breath tickling my ear.

"If you really want, then I guess we could stay at the asylum as long as Matt and Ratchet want us to." It was barely a whisper, but it repeated itself like a broken record in my head, his breath making me tense up and flashes of heat pulsiated throughout my body. We literally couldn't get any physically closer.

"Y-yeah. Okay." I could feel him smirk by the way his cheekbones brushed the side of my face. He laughed, even. It was dark and smooth and... attractive.

"You stuttered." He whispered into my neck, giving me chills.

"Please get off me." I applauded myself for not having my voice shake, even though it went up a few octaves.

"You don't really want me to." I laughed nervously, realizing that he was terrifyingly accurate.

Suddenly we heard footsteps, and I could feel an enormous amount of relief and dissapointment.

His warmth and security left in a whoosh, and I might have actually whimpered a little bit. Yanking me by my wrist, he dragged me into our room and closed the door.

"Hey guys, you ready to go?" Ratchet asked, walking into the door seconds after.

"Yeah." Mello answered immediately, probably because I felt like I had lost the ability.

"Let's head out then!" Matt exclaimed, large bag in hand.  
>...,,,...<p>

We were walking casually behind other people's houses, around 12. People were still outside, being handed candy and whatnot, and lights still lit up the neighborhood in dazzling lights.

Ratchet and Matt, who seemed more excited than I had ever seen them, were joyfully dashing across the backyards of others, pointing and shouting to eachother how long they thought it would take to get there or if they could see it.

"I swear, there's someone following us." Mello said next to me, as in, painfully close to me.

"You're just being paranoid because you never get out." I said.

"No I'm serious."

"You don't know how to not be serious." I replied honestly.

"Y-yeah. Okay." He mocked, imitating me from earlier. My face burned and I was suddenly aware of how close we were standing.

"Guys! Hurry up!" Matt shouted from across the clearing, he and Ratchet already at the gates. It was surprisingly close to the neighborhood, just a ways beyond the county. Wammys was just along the border of the county, which meant that is wasn't all that far off.

"Well then," Ratchet said. "Welcome to Hellingly Asylum!"


	14. Chapter 14: Cardboard Boxes

Hey guys, sorry this chapter is so short and I've been gone for so long. Busy busy. But don't worry; this is only like a part 1 for this chapter, and I'll probably have the next chapter out later today or sometime later this week. Not too much romance in this part, but there will be in the next part. Love you guys, ENJOY.

"Scared yet?" Mello said calmly once we were all inside the large and rather musty asylum.

"Not yet, but it's still early, and we just got here." Ratchet explained, peeking his head around and pulling out a flashlight from the bag he carried around his shoulder.

"This is gonna be so cool." Matt said, grinning at every cobweb or pile of dust he saw. I just walked around aimlessly, peeking around and sticking close to Mello. Not like I wanted to, he just had the flashlight and I didn't want to trip over something and make of fool of myself. Of course, a large majority of my most embarrassing moments happened around these guys, and vice versa.

"Hey." Mello whispered, pointing the flashlight in a direction. I crept a little closer and peeked my head around the corner he was looking at.

"We should check this place out first. Just don't tell those two lunatics." He was gesturing towards the extremely narrow hallway that was accessible only through a small hole that had been made from a collapsed wall.

"This place is so old." I muttered.

"Hey, you guys! Come over here!" Ratchet yelled acrossed the room. The room we were in was most likely the place where patients came to check in and out, with stairways going this way and that, and of course the large metal doors leading outside.

"Okay, so CL, here's your camera, and Mello already has a flashlight, so he won't need one." Ratchet handed me a small handheld digital camera. I pushed the power button on, a clicking noise sparking from the camera. I clicked one of the slots on the side, activating night vision. I know I'm going to need this when we head downstairs, where there are no longer any windows.

"Oookay." I said raising the camera to me eye and pushing the record button.

"Where did you even get the money to get these?" I asked them.

"I know a guy." Was all that Matt said. I let it at that, no need to push.

"Alright, sooo, Matt and I will head upstairs on the right and you guys go downstairs to the left." Ratchet said. Of course I have to spend an entire night with Mello. I practically jump everytime I feel his breath ever since what happened earlier tonight.

"This should be.. fun." I said, my voice empty of enthusiasm.

"We could make it fun." He said, copying my tone. My breath caught in my throat; he totally caught my off guard.

"Oh please, I'm kidding." he muttered, kicking the hole he found earlier, making it bigger.

"Gee." I said, following him through the hole and practically falling through to a hallway. Well, that was a convenient shortcut.

"You can keep that, by the way." He said, changing the subject entirely. He gestured to my- well, his- shirt, which I had worn only because all of my other clothes were in the wash. It was surprisingly tight, even on me. I'd just put on a pair of gray shorts and some black tennis shoes.

"I will." I replied, grabbing the camera and pointing it at him. His eyes glowed in the night vision, pretty much that same way they did on any average day.

"Woah." He stopped suddenly, and I turned the camera to the direction of his gaze. Across from us, there was a lone wheelchair in the middle of the hallway. It was like the perfect scene of a horror movie.

"This is probably just something Matt and Ratchet cooked up." I said nonchalantly, walking a few paces ahead. Mello didn't follow, I compressed a laugh.

"There's no way you're scared of this." I said, turning back to look at him.

"I'm... not. At all." He said walking up to me and grabbing me sharply by the wrist, pulling my along. Strangely, I liked that, much more than I should have.

"I hope this doesn't bother any evil spirits." Mello joked, sitting down on the wheelchair and crossing his legs. I laughed.

"Careful, you might anger the beyond." I said sarcastically. He smirked, getting up and kicking the wheelchair to the side.

"C'mon, follow me." He said, turning a corner and reaching a dead end. He shone the flashlight on a large corkboard, full of paper and a few black and white pictures.

"Boring." He said, flipping through the file sheets and tossing them carelessly on the floor.

"Let's just keep going until we find something." I said, walking down the hallway and avoiding cobwebs.

"Or find a suitable room." He muttered quietly.

"Why would we need that?" I asked him, turning the camera on him.

"Reasons." He said, smirking.

"Yeah, okay, or that." I said. All of a sudden, we heard a loud noise, like a door closing shut, and scattering footsteps. We stopped immediately, whipping around to stare at the hallway.

"Did you hear that?" I asked him.

"It was probably just Matt and Ratchet." He whispered. Wait, why were we whispering now, all of a sudden?

"They're upstairs; they wouldn't be able to slam a door down here." I said.

"But we didn't go through any doors." He reminded me.

"You don't think they left?" I said, narrowing my eyes and the thought.

"No, no. They were way too excited for this." He stated.

"Then someone must've come in." As soon as I said that, we heard something like paper shifting behind us. I almost jumped from the sudden movement.

"Follow me." He said, running behind a stack of cardboard boxes. We peeked around the edge of one of the boxes, still trying to remain quiet.

I still shivered at such close contact with him. We saw a dark figure, just a little bit shorter than me.

"Who the hell is that?" Mello whispered, his breath warming, almost like a sense of safety.

"Hey. Listen to me." Mello whispered/said firmly, his grip on my wrist tightening.

"Use the camera." He ordered.

"Oh my god." I muttered, peering out through the camera lense.

"What. Who is it?" He asked me, his voice on edge.

"Skyla." I hissed. 


	15. Chapter 15: Rebelliousness

Hi. New chapter. It's been requested. I appreciate it. Hope you like. Review please. I'd like that. Send me a message if you want. Check out Jedi-Espada's fanfic for MelloxOC too. It's good, I promise. ENJOY.  
>...,,...<p>"God damn... does she have to be everywhere?" Mello whispered with a sharp edge in his voice that made me believe that was more a threat than a complaint. I smiled.<p>

"Are you going to do something about it?" I asked lightly with a smirk, testing my suspicion.

"Oh yeah." He replied, standing up and yanking me up roughly by the wrist, which I, once again, strangely... liked. He put his hand on the large pile of boxes we had hid behind and watched for Skyla. Once she became hidden in front of the boxes he shoved, pushing all of the boxes on Skyla, making her screech and and fall underneath the heavy load. I stifled a laugh, and followed Mello down the hallway, trying to get a head start from Skyla, who would be without a doubt fuming. I pushed the wheelchair to the middle of the hallway, right next to the corner for good measure.

"Agh!" I heard Skyla clumsy fall from the wheelchair all the way to the small hole we had first entered. I looked back at Mello who had just calmly walked into a door that led to another hallway. I followed closely behind, as though he represented some false hope of security. It's not like I get very scared of the paranormal, and I'm not very sure if I even believe in the paranormal, but I just wanted to make sure he was just... there. I don't know... maybe it was just the fact that he had the flashlight and I would be totally reliable on my little video camera to keep from utter darkness. But maybe not, I wasn't quite sure.

"Perfect..." I could hear Mello mutter under his breath, but just barely.

"What?" I asked. He looked away from whatever it was he was looking at and raised his eyebrows at me.

"Nothing." He said flatly, and left toward the opposite hallway. I followed, of course, but paused to see what was so "perfect". It was nothing more than a map showing the bottom floor, the floor we were on, which showed even more corridors. I sighed, slightly regretting coming here in the first place.

"Are you coming?" He asked from quite a ways away, though I could still hear the irritation in his voice.

"Yeah... yeah." I said, rather positive he couldn't hear the last part. I followed him down the hallway and into the next room, a computer lab used for the employees, and sat down in one of the wheelie chairs. Mello actually locked the door so Skyla wouldn't be able to get in.

"You think she knows where we are?" I asked, almost stupidly, because if he didn't he wouldn't have locked the door.

"No, but just in case." He said, walking back over to me and getting uncomfortably close.

"Let's go back." He whispered.

"What about Matt and Ratchet?" I asked, my voice surprisingly steady.

"Here." He said, taking the video camera from my hands (rather forcefully) and pressing the record button from I had stopped filming five minutes ago.

"We got bored and left, so don't look for us downstairs." He said into the camera, now facing him. He pressed the stop button and closed the flip out compartment.

"Yeah, sure." I said, practically in a trance, speaking like an obediant doll, or well, if dolls could speak. It almost sickened me, but he smirked like he always did and led me out into the hallway.

"Actually, I changed my mind." He said, veering to the left into an old squeaky door.

"What? Why?" I asked, glad that I didn't just agree, like I was seeing myself doing for a while now.

"Because, it'll be fun." He explained, pulling me with him into the open room.

"Oh god." I muttered, immediately catching his hint. He had led me into a room of a former, and very, very, disturbed patient. The walls were covered with drawings and some illegible words that were even more broken than Ratchet's.

"Not what I had in mind." Mello said, breaking my trance on the walls covered with ink.

"Can we just go?" I deadpanned. This wasn't exactly scary or disturbing for me. Just another room in just another asylum.

"Why? You scared?" I should've seen that coming. I honestly wanted to just go back to Wammy's and sit on the couch and watch scary movies. It was Halloween, after all.

"No, I'm not scared of a couple of drawings and I just want to go back where it's warm and just sit." I said, pretty much giving up on this whole experience.

"No you don't. I know you don't." He said, walking over to where I was standing in a corner.

"And how, exactly?" I asked, though he pretty much took that as a challenge.

"Because." He said, stalking closer and closer until we were just inches apart and put his hand just an inch or two above my head.

I said nothing, just tensed up and tried to glare, hoping he didn't pick up on anthing hidden in my eyes.

"Because I know." That answer wasn't much better at all, really.

He smirked, his eyes piercing and undefying. I wished mine were like that, I really did. Or maybe they were, I just didn't do something with them right. Or maybe nobody really cared to tell me. It didn't really matter, because, as I realized with a scowl, wherever he was I wasn't much father behind. I was too reliable on his eyes, and I should be more reliable with mine.

"You know what?" I asked, trying to make my eyes as cold, those weren't exactly cold right now, as possible.

"I know that you have that mischevious look in your eyes, and that means that you don't really want to go home." He said, narrowing his eyes as though he has won something. Maybe he has. I realized I couldn't really read his eyes, like I could with everyone else's. They weren't exactly youthful. The only thing I could pick up on was some sort of rebeliousness. Rebeliousness? Was that even a word? If I kept this up I'd be illiterate by the time I was 20.

And that's when I remember something; something that my stepmother used to tell me. "You're the type to die young, you are." She'd say, her words muffled by a cigarette.

It's not something I usually asked myself, but I wondered if I would even make it to my twenties. I can only hope, I guess.

"Hm." He says it arrogantly, and it snaps me back from my thoughts. He leans in, as though he was about to whisper something, his eyes flashing with that rebious hue I've seen in them for as long as I could remember.

He was interrupted though, and those eyes finally left. The interruption though, made me tense up even further than I already was. It sounded like a squek.

"The hell was that?" He asked, opening the door and peeking around the doorway. I could see his shoulders tense and maybe his head move a fraction of an inch.

"What?" I asked, proud that my voice didn't waver, or even go up a pitch or two.

"Nothing. Just that wheelchair." He said glancing back towards me.

"How could it have been the wheelchair?" I asked, joining him in the investigation.

"I don't know. It was probably just nothing." He said, although I could see from the way his eyes narrowed ever so slightly that he didn't really believe that. Mello, obviously, didn't believe in the paranormal.

"Can we just.. go.. now?" I asked him, wanting nothing more than to watch a couple of serial killers murder their victims. Or maybe watch an innocent family become terrorized by spirits of their past. It's not sadistic, I just want to leave and become comfortable. It's not like there's anything here in the first place, much to Matt and Ratchet's probable demise.

"Yeah. Whatever." He muttered, gripping my wrist tighter than usual and practically dragging me away through the halls. His grip did eventually get lesser and lesser until I was free to simply follow behind closely, just like I did beforehand. I made a mental note to stop doing that, but it might take a while. After all, it wasn't doing either of us any harm.

We eventually came across another unusual sound, but he just picked up his pace and muttered something about logic. He put the video camera in front of the two metal doors before we left, and immediately swore under his breath. The wind had hit both us really hard, and it wasn't exactly all that warm in the asylum, either.

"What a night." I said, and he smirked. ...,,,...

"I can't believe this is seriously what you wanted to do all night." Mello said, taking a bite out his chocolate bar and laying his head down on my shoulder. This was a habit of his, although he seemed to do that to me the most. It wasn't anything particularly strange, just a friendly gesture.

"Yeah. It's nice and simple." I explained, my eyes stared prominently at the screen.

"Things will never be simple for those in Wammy's. Unless you're adopted. But they don't put you up for adoption when high up in the ranks. You have to stay here and hope for the best. Not like that'll provide any kind of safety. You've seen L, it's practically impossible to achieve even an hour of sleep." He said, rather flatly, and I knew that everything he had said was true. One hundred percent true.

"We're the type to die young." He added. I knew he was right, I'd been told more than once.

"We're the type to defy." I replied.

Alright, I'm proud of this chapter. I've noticed my writing is at best when I write at night. Don't worry, more romance to come. You just have to wait; they're like, 14. 


	16. Chapter 16: I Decided That I Hate Her

Oh my gosh you guys... I'm finally getting this thing up. Oh, forgive me for being a tad late; I've had an awful case of writer's block for the past few days. Now, to clear up any confusion you all may have, the middle part is portrayed by CL's sister. And if you forget, her real name is Jess. And she's a bombshell. I mean, come on now, the hottest guy in Death Note deserves a hot girl. It's only necessary. I'll warn you; you're either going to love this chapter or hate it. My sincerest apologies if it's the latter.

ENJOY.  
>...,,,...<p>

"I don't get it," I sighed, looking out of the glass window in our room. "What's so fun about throwing rubber balls at other people if you're just going to get hit in return?" I asked no one in particular and not expecting an answer. I was alone, afterall. Matt and Mello were off doing Matt and Mello things, most likely tormenting other kids. Their 'victims' were actually kids older than them, but look younger or simply believe that they're younger. It's really quite funny,until someone like Ratchet or Near ruins it. Even so, their shocked expression is totally worth it.

I was looking out the glass window in our room, thinking back to when my friend's little brother's used to do stupid things like the kids at Wammys were now. At the time, all that seemed irrelevent. As thought it was just another occurence, just something people did for fun. But now, it just makes them look stupid. I hated being so judgmental, especially on just little kids, but that's what Wammy's had made me become. In fact, everyone I knew at Wammy's was like that. It's not like we shunned them forever just for doing something we didn't understand. It's just that the fact we didn't understand it made us mad. I'm starting to wonder whether or not we're actually smarter than the kids playing outside. To them, it's probably the simplest thing in the world. I guess that's why we don't get it. We put everything we know into complex terms, feeling a sense of accomplishment when we can explain something so complicated in our heads.

My thoughts are interrupted by a door opening. It's Linda, holding something like a picture in her hand. She has suitcases at her sides. My expression softens as I realize her situation. She's come to say goodbye.

"Hello CL." She says, a bright smile on her face.

"Hey."

"L was right, ya know."

"About what?"

"L said that Kira wasn't God." Her statement catches me a bit off guard; of course Kira wasn't God!

"Well of course he's not."

"God finally answered my prayers. I'm finally getting adopted!" She squeaked before running over and hugging me briefly but tightly, before rushing downstairs to be whisked away by her parents. I follow her, and watch as they each take one of her hands and smile and leave. I see Roger wave as the door shuts behind the new, carefree family.

"Ah, CL." Roger finally noticed me on the staircase, and greeted me warmly.

"Roger." I said, a tad more cold than I had meant it to be. He remained smiling, unphazed.

"Sorry about the urgent intrusion, she just had to tell someone and you were the only one in their room." He says in an old, raspy voice.

"It's fine." I said shortly, walking down the rest of the stairs. Maybe, since he was in such a good mood, he'll let me have a snack or two.

"If you're hungry, you can sure have a snack or two." Hah! I couldn't believe my luck.

"How about three?" I challenged, rummaging through the cabinets for something yummy. He chuckled an old, friendly chuckle. Like how one would imagine Santa Claus.

"Three is fine m'dear, take as many as you please." He said, surprising me. I knew he had a softspot for those who had lost everything, literally, everthing, but still. This was a tad unlike him. Maybe he's just lonely.

"How's the Kira case going with L?" I ask, pulling out a new bag of chips and pulling the top. Usually the kids who weren't in the top ten weren't allowed to know much about the Kira case, other than it's basically L vs. Kira. The ones who were would get updates every now and then, and the ones who were in the top five, the true competitors, were the ones to know almost everything. This is because we are the only ones who aren't put up for adoption (not like many even know this is an orphanage, many just think it's an institution). Because for us, this is just an institution. And a dangerous one at that.

"Well," He starts, sitting himself down on a comfortable chair. "To be honest, not even I know much about where they are now since the update. However, I do know that the finale is getting close. He really is putting himself on the line. But I have faith. I know he can do this." He said, he eyes full of determination.

"Yeah. We can only hope." I say, before nodding and leaving to go up to my room. Maybe something good will be on TV today.  
>...,,,...<p>

"The hell did you get chips?" Mello asks me, sitting down at a desk and giving me a weird look. I smile and toss him a bag.

"Roger was feeling generous, I suppose. Probably had something to do about Linda leaving, you know she was his favorite." He takes the bag swiftly and opens it, obviously trying to finish it off before Matt comes back and does it himself.

"Linda left? Eh, she wasn't much of a competitor anyways." He waves it off with his hand and sprawls down on the couch.

"Hey, do you know anything crucial about the Kira case?" I ask him. If anyone would know anything about it, it'd be him.

"Nothing more than you do," He said, before sitting up and staring me down with those icy eyes of his. "Why?" He asked it like a challenge, which made me almost want to smirk.

"Ah, no reason. Just curious." I said turning around.

"Uh-huh." He said, sounding skeptical.

"I just wonder how he's holding up. That's all." I explained, trying to avoid any kind of further interrogation.

"He's L, he'll be fine." He said, sounding defensive.

"I know that. I just wonder." I hope he knows that he's not the only one who looks up to L.

"He's fine." He said simply, giving me an impassive glance.

"What do you think about Kira? Do you think he's a god?" I asked him, though I pretty much already knew the answer.

"Of course not. He's just a simpleton who's deranged himself into thinking he's some righteous god with whatever false power he's gained." He said, closing his eyes as though he was almost displeased. I walked over and sat down, with my back against the couch, since he took up all the space. This made me think about how tall he was. He was taller than most of the guys here, along with Matt, which is why most of the few older than him actually think they're younger. He's lean too, which I personally like more than 'bulky', as some would describe. That was my unpopular opinion and I was sticking with it.

"Why, what do you think?" He asked after a while.

"I think Kira's an idiot who's in way over his head. So, pretty much the same as you." I replied, soon realizing that I actually kind of respected Mello for his answer.

"You think I'm an idiot in way over his head?" He said, smirking about twisting my words.

"Yeah." I replied without a moment's hesitation, trying not to give him the satisfaction.

"Tch." He muttered, and I heard the sound of foil being unwrapped, a sound I've been familiorized with over time. I almost scolded myself when I started to relax from the sound. He took a bite, which I have learned to not flinch from, and dropped down to my level. We sat there for a while, not saying or doing anything (besides eating) in particular other than watch TV.  
>...,,,...<p>

After a while, he speaks.

"So... Ratchet..." He doesn't finish, but he sounds almost dissapointed.

"What about him?" I asked, unsure of where this was going.

"Uh, he's not like Matt and I. Or you, for that matter." This caught me off guard; Ratchet was no different than Matt! He even had similarities with Mello.

"In what way?" I asked, skeptical.

"Ratchet's not exactly the type to kill." Things immediately became serious. Not many liked to talk about killing, which was something the position of L would have to deal with on an almost daily basis.

"How do you know this?" I was almost hurt that he'd say that about our friend, our ally.

"I don't think I should be the one to tell you about his life story or anything like that. But just trust me, he simply couldn't do it." Why he was telling me this now of all times was strange in my opinion, but he was known to do unexpected things at unexpected times, and that was what made him interesting to be around.

"And why are you telling me this at all times?" I asked, a little intrigued, and scooted closer.

"It's useful information." He said simply, taking a bite of chocolate.

"Useful information? I don't see how this is relevant at all." I said, furrowing my brows.

"It will be. In time." Okay, now I'm getting a little frusterated. I didn't like being kept in the dark with matters such as these. It gave me the sense of being manipulated.

"Oh. I see how it is." I refuse to play his little game.

"Hm? I have no idea what you're talking about." He said, glancing over at me.

"You're planning something. Obviously." I looked back, and saw a hint of amusement in his cold blue eyes.

"No, no I'm not. The ability to kill would be useful in any situation the future L would be in." He looked over at me, and I could tell he was lying. It was like he knew that I knew he was lying. Should that make sense.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say," I said, before curiousity boiled up in my mind "But, speaking of life stories, how'd you end up in Wammy's?" I asked. I saw him tense up, his jaw tighten. I immediately felt like I'd crossed the line.

"You first." he said, his voice edgey.

"Okay," I somehow forced myself to agree. Maybe, just maybe, this would make me feel a little bit better. "Well,"

.:Flashback:.

"Jess, come down and hang out with the family. It's Christmas, for crying out loud." My mother called up towards my older sister. She could be considered the black sheep in the family, seeing as how she was always treated differently. I knew why, of course. When Mother was young, she fell in love with a man who was clearly less than qualified of her love. I doubt he loved her back, and only used her for his own sick pleasures. When Jess was born, he tried to take her away from Mother, but the police were called and Jess was saved. One of the police had taken suit to Mother, and even took her out on a date. Oh, I find that so romantic! Like a knight in shining armor! That's how Mother met Father, and not too long after I was born.

But Mother was still bitter about the entire incident. I like to think it was because of how much her features resembled her father, from what few pictures I managed to find up in the attic. She had his blonde hair, his angular jaw and features, and cerulean eyes. She also lacked Mother's thin figure. She was lean, but a little more curvy than Mother would've liked. In fact, she found it repulsive. She also didn't play any sports, or do any activities. She excelled in all subjects without the need of studying. Sometimes her friends wondered if she was actually smarter than her own teachers.

I, on the other hand, did not look anything like her. I was born in the perfect copy of my mother and father's image. I had long, silky brown hair and big, beautifully green eyes. I had a graceful heart shaped face and rosy cheeks. My body was thin, nimble. Perfect for ballet, which I had natural talent for. I was also shorter than her.

Everybody thought I was prettier. Cuter. More beautiful. I smiled more and had a sweeter additude. She was anti-social, and I had more friends than I could count. Some could even say I was better than her in every possible way. I would've been, but she had another thing of her father's. She was smart. It was almost inhuman, how smart she was. Off the charts. The only way her father was caught was that he told his best friend. He had trust in the wrong people. That's why he was locked away in jail now.

And yet, she was still bitter towards our mother, and especially my father. Sure, they'd treat me better than her sometimes. But that was because I was simply better than her. In every, single way. Sometimes, when Mother would drop us off at home, after praising me for my ballet skills and scolding her for bad etiquette and unlady-like behavior, she'd mutter to herself the word "tramp" and narrow her piercing gaze in Mother's direction. It was definitely a cold stare, full of bitterness. I didn't understand how she wasn't even thankful for her mother, after all she's done for her. She saved her from her own father when she was just an infant and she was still ungrateful! I just don't understand her at all, and I think that alone amuses her. As though she knows something I don't and likes it. She's just like her father; using me and my confusion of her actions for her own sick pleasures. As though she likes the fact and would like nothing more than to make sure I have no idea what she's thinking, what's going on in her head.

"Come on, we must be going to the restaurant soon." Mother added, and Jess finally came down with a simple pair of lightwash denim pants and a green sweater. I also realize now that Mother doesn't give her new clothes as much as she does me. In fact, I can't remember the last time Jess has received new clothing. ...,,,...

We were all eating calmly in the restaurant, until three robbers came and burst through the door, pistols in hands and ski masks on their heads. Mother and Father immediately came to my rescue, covering me and sheltering me in their arms, while Jess was left in the open in the booth opposite of mine. Father had left her side immediately.

I think one the robbers actually waved to her, a very tanned man with red shaggy hair dressed all in black. She might've nodded, or maybe it was just something I'd imagined. He looked young, though. Around our age, maybe a year or two older. Or maybe he was just tall.

Even as I shivered out of fear and clutched my mom and dad tightly, Jess remained unphazed. Like this was just another daily occurence. This type of thing had happened to us once before, but she'd just kept her usual blank expression and lean her head over to see what was happening.

"Hey!" My dad, being a police officer, shouted. He stood and quickly wrapped his coat around my shoulders. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at the robbers, though he was outnumbered. I felt a rush of pride. Jess stayed still and watched the scene with a skeptical eye, almost evaluating whats happening. Predicting what's about to happen based on the first few beginning actions.

"You can't take out all of us." The tallest one said, with a dark and raspy voice. The robbers pointed their guns at my dad, except the youngest looking one, who simply held the bag open and let the worried looking cashier dump the money within the bag.

"No, but I can take out one of you." said my dad, and I immediately felt another rush of pride. He was just so brave! The tallest one motioned the youngest lookng one to my family, and my dad quickly turned the gun to him. He just kept walking toward us, looking bored, and I shivered again. I've never been this scared before...

"No... please don't.. please don't hurt my family. You can hurt me, but not my family." I started crying at this point. I tried to be strong... be brave like my dad. But I just couldn't. I let the tears flow. and so did my mother. Jess didn't even look threatened. Bored if anything. Like the boy pointing the gun at us. And that's when I realized; he was pointing the gun at me and my mom, not Jess. Maybe they did know eachother... no that was ridiculous! Jess would never befriend anyone with a killing intent.

"P-please..." I whimpered, pretty sure my makeup was smearing. My blood ran cold, and I could feel my heart freeze. The boy sneered and raised his head in defiance, as though making a point he was better than me. He pulled the gun up to me and my mom. My eyes widened. He wouldn't...

"Stay away from my family!" Dad shouted, and it took me a minute to calm my heavy sobbing. From what I could see from my blurr of tears, the tallest one came over to our table and pointed his gun at my mother. I started choking on my own sobs.

"Are you his daughter?" He asked me, leaning over our table with his gun pointed at me. I could only nod and cry, nod and cry. I couldn't die! I was too young, too beautiful! Things like this aren't supposed to happen to kids!

"Are you his wife?" He asked my mother, switching the gun in between her and myself, while the third guy had a gun pointed at him, his finger on the trigger.

"Y-yes... please don't kill my family... please don't kill my family." Mother sobbed and shook her head before calming her sobs, paralleling my actions.

"Are you his daughter?" The youngest one, motioned over by the tallest, asked Jess, his voice just as dark as the one who asked me. His gun was pointed rather lazily at Jess, and his finger wasn't even on the trigger. They both looked bored. How could she remain so calm? She was going to die and she didn't even care. Was life that pointless to her? I just couldn't understand her actions.

She finally spoke, then. And what she said made me hate her more than I already did.

"No." Her voice was clear, and she spoke as though speaking about the weather. He smirked and glanced over at us.

I heard three, loud bangs. My eyes widened with realization. No... I'm too young! I'm too young! I can't die yet! People my age don't die!

I might've shrieked, though I didn't hear anything. I looked at Jess as I felt myself fall, and her eyes were full of something I couldn't identify. It looked like revenge to me. Like this was what she was waiting for. As though this would give her satisfaction.

Why? Why didn't she die with us? Because she didn't consider herself his daughter? She'd lived with him since she was two years old! She should be grateful! If anyone of us deserved to die, it was her! I bet she said what she did so she could be with her father.

.:EndOfFlashback:.

"You'd be surprised at how schocked people get when they realize they don't live forever." I told him, my eyes lost in remembrance of that oh so fateful night.

"Why'd you say you weren't a part of his family?" He asked.

"Lost in my emotions, I guess. I actually thought I'd be able to see him, as if they'd maybe let him keep me. He would've been able to, had his so-called best friend not ratted on him."

"So-called?"

"He was having an affair with my mom. The Little..." I trailed off, not twitching my head in mock disgust.

"You know, he really did love her. That I believe. Just gullible and prone to manipulation." I added, before catching myself. Why exactly was I telling him all this emotional stuff? He didn't care.

"Ah. That's... rough." And just when I thought he couldn't show sympathy.

"Huh. Yeah, I guess. Just don't tell anybody because then they'll probably think I'm some heartless bitch." I added, though I knew he pretty much had noone to tell.  
>...,,,...<p>

"Do you have any chips left?" He asked me randomly, after a few moments of silence. I was glad how easily he could change the subject, so I didn't have to dwell on anything.

"... Yeaaah, why?" He looked over at the bag, and quickly reached out an arm to grab the bag.

"Hey!" Forget about whatever sympathy he may have. I take that back. Immediately I pulled the chips out of his reach, pulling them as far to the side as my arm would go. He leaned over sideways, grabbing for the bag, and I put my hand on his shoulder and tried to shove him back. This, somehow, made me laugh. He said nothing and bit his lip, which made me stop and blush. I don't know why, but for some reason, that was attractive to me. Seeing me pause he lunged and fell over me, all the while grabbing the bag.

Mello was on top of me. We literally couldn't get any closer. My hands went to his shoulders, almost by instinct. His eyes narrowed, but he didn't look very irritated.

His lips went straight to my neck out of nowhere, and I struggled not to let out a gasp. I eventually managed to push him over on his side. He looked at me skeptically.

"Why'd you do that?" He asked me calmly, his face not harsh at all, if anything rather amused.

"I should be asking you the same thing." My own voice was unusually calm.

"Hm." He smirked and changed positions. The sudden movement made me flinch and he paused. Good god, what have I done?

His smirk grew and he pushed me back on the ground. His lips hovered over mine and I quickly closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to see it. When nothing happened I opened my eyes again, and saw him smirking victoriously on top of me I immediately blinked in clear annoyance.

"Are you waiting for something?" He asked me, and I just layed there and sighed.

"Yes?" He moved his head to the side and raised his eyebrows.

"I'm waiting for you to get off me." I said softly, calmly. He looked back at me, hands still gripped tightly on my shoulders and got even closer to my face. I turned my face away in instinct and glanced back at him. Questioning if he was going to do what he'd just done moments ago.

"I think you're waiting for something else." I tried to push him back off, but that only made the proximity between us closer.

"I'm waiting for Matt to come in so you'll get off me." I said, voice still unusually calm.

"You're free to push me off. He said, which was very much wrong.

"Not with you pushing me ba- Oh."

"You were free to push me off a while ago." He added, waving his hands in front of me to prove it.

"Oh." I said stupidly.

"Since you don't want me off, then that means you want something else." His lips went back to my neck. My hands automatically went back to his shoulders but didn't do anything else.

"Tch." was all I could really say.

I was rolled over then, now on top of him. He pulled my hands around his neck and looked at me expectedly.

"What?" I asked, my mind practically numb.

"What have we been doing for the past five minutes?" My mind reeled, and I couldn't think straight. He smirked. I tried desperately hard to get off him, but that only ended up in him rolling back on top of me.

"Ah, I see how it is." He said, almost darkly, and crashed his lips against mine. My mind came back to it's original state and I finally realized what was happening. He moved his jaw slightly to the side and licked my lower lip, asking for entrance. The unexpected gesture made me gasp and he took his chance. His tongue probed and battled mine, though I didn't really see how a winner could be decided.

I heard someone knock on the door and I immediately snapped my eyes open. I started pushing Mello with my hands and he opened his eyes in annoyance.

"What?" He asked, irritated. The knocks came again and we heard a voice this time.

"M-Mello? Matt needs you." It was Skyla's voice, and I actually glanced over at the revolver on the desk.

"For what?" His voice was cold and I knew that Skyla had probably flinched. Mello was now sitting on my stomache, one of his legs on each side of my waist.

"H-He wants to talk about something." Well duh.

"Well duh," She paused, as if too scared to say anything else. He leaned back over, ready to continue where we left off. Oh god, what?

"Just go away, I'll talk to him about it later."

"He said it was urgent." Her voice wavered, and he sneered.

"Fine." He got up and left, leaving me on the floor like an idiot. I sat up immediately, and quickly shouted after him, "This never happened!"

He turned around and shook his head, agreeing. Huh, as though I'd be able to ever forget that.  
>...,,,...<p>

Yeah okay I added romance. You asked for it, I delivered. If it sucks, I blame ya'll. But yeah here it is. A little longer than the others, but that's okay.

Review and tell me whether or not it sucked. And sorry if their first little kissy scene was below your expectations. I'm only human. 


	17. Chapter 17: I Like Being Selfish

Hey bros, back with another chapter! Hopefully I didn't take too long with this one. Kinda busy this week (cough* and by busy I mean tumblring all day *cough). BUT anyways, this one's just an expression on the mischief that comes oh so often with young adolescents. Anyone actually read these? Maybe? Yes? No? Regardless, ENJOY ...,,,...  
>I sat there after Mello left, and flipped through channels at a slow pace. Boy, it was boring.<p>I turned the sound up a little bit louder, trying to drown out my thoughts. Man, I wish I could be like Linda and just wash away anything I wanted to. Unfortunately, my brain wasn't so forgiving. I've practically forgotten every time someone had said they were proud of me, or even complimented me. Instead all the thoughts about my parents and my sister lingered and remained in my mind, even from times where I was so young I thought I'd be unable to remember. Just my luck, I guess.<p>

I heard another knocking on the door, and grew irritated. If it was Skyla again I think I might puke. Who did she think she was, anyway? Some personal messager? And I thought Matt had ditched her already.

"What?" I asked, rather crossly. If Skyla didn't think I disliked her than I wanted her to know that I very much did.

"Don't 'what' me, open the door." It was Mello, actually, and I blushed when I realized it was locked. He had locked the door purposefully so nobody could get in.

"..." I didn't say anything when I unlocked it and he came barging in, just stared at him blankly, trying to decipher how in the world I wasn't dying from awkwardness right now. He was acting as though nothing had happened, and I suppose I should too.

"Roger said that L would be postponing you're little shooting incident until he gets done with this case. He seems to be pretty wrapped up in it by now." He said passively, sitting down and unwrapping a chocolate bar. I fought back the urge to sigh.

"I hope he get's finished with this Kira case soon, although that's probably an unlikely scenario." I said, sitting cross-legged on the couch, a ways away from him. He glanced over and raised his head a fraction of an inch before turning back to the screen.

"I can't say for sure if L is all that much behind. Remeber what Roger was talking about when he was on the phone the other day?" He asked, looking back over at me again.

"You mean about the helicopter?"

"Yeah, why would he suddenly need a helicopter?"

"Well the crowds of Kira worshippers are growing wider and they already know it's Kira vs. L, I mean, we both saw the broadcast. The sky would be a bit safer than the ground, especially with a second Kira capable of killing just on sight alone." I said, going over all of the facts through my head.

"That's true, but it's rather unlikely the second Kira would even recognize him as L. He doesn't exactly fit what most people think of when it comes to the greatest detective in the world."

"Okay, yeah, that's true too." I admitted, mulling over what he might have planned.

"Which also means that he's got something planned."

"Ordering a helicopter in advance would definitely mean some course of action is already planned out, yes. But still, I wonder what's going on. I wish they'd just tell us, it's not like we'd ever be used as Kira pawns."

"I know. I've tried pressing Roger but he just says that L's got it all under control and that there was nothing we needed to know." He narrowed his eyes in irritation when he said this, probably a bit angry of being treated almost as though he were just a kid. I really, really, really smart kid.

"I don't think Roger even knows too much. Actually, I'm pretty sure Watari is the only person other than L with connections to the orphanage who knows anything at all about the Kira case."

"Well then, if that's true, we'll just have to wait until L gets finished and comes back. Then he can tell us everything." He said, smirking. For someone like Mello, he sure had a lot of faith in L. That could end up being dangerous.

"What if L dies?" I asked, rather bluntly. Oh well, he didn't have a sensitive fiber in his being.

"Then whoever L chose to become the next L will become, well, L. And then they figure out who Kira is. It the worse comes to the worse, than we'll just have to wait until he dies of natural causes or an accident or whatever."

"But what if he chooses his own heir?" I asked, although I doubted he'd be able to find anyone smarter than a single one of the children kept here.

"Then I'll kill them." He said simply, and I couldn't help but laugh to myself.

"Fair enough. Although I doubt it'll even actually come to that." I said.

We broke off our conversation there and didn't speak for a while, watching TV and thinking about what the hell he was going to use with a helicopter or how many Kira's there really are or will be. I hoped just two, three or more simply wouldn't do.

"I'm bored." His voice interrupted my train of thought.

"So am I." I put simply, going to back to the TV, which was playing a stereotypical love movie. The girl was useless as could be and the man was strong and brave, doing everying for the girl. I wouldn't be surprised if he spoonfed her.

"Door's still locked." His voice took on an amused tone, a smirk gracing his lips yet again.

"We agreed that never happened." I said rather quickly, picking up sudden tension. He sneered.

"People can go back on agreements." He said, sitting up taller now, no longer slumped back.

"If they both agree to go back on agreements." I deadpanned, narrowing my eyes at his advancing shape.

"Or if one is persuaded by the other..." He said before standing and walking in front of me.

"This is just way too weird."

"How so?" He spoke with a hint of defiance. Would it be bad if I said I kind of liked that tone? Yes? He arched his back slightly and put his hand on his hip and smirked. It was infuriating really, how he could smirk so easily and it would come off so perfect. When someone said "smirk", his was the first that comes to mind.

I stood up and the smirk was lost, his arms folding across his chest and his eyes suddenly more piercing.

"Where are you going?" He asked calmly. Too calmly.

"Ah.." I trailed, remebering that Ratchet wasn't even here but somewhere away with Matt, and that those were really the only two people I would even consider bothing. He raised his eyebrows.

He blinked, unfolding his arms and making his way over to me again. I stayed where I was, taking an impassive look. He already knew I didn't do much to stop him the first time. I'm guessing he's thinking why I would do anything the second.

"Please?" He said, his eyes narrowing, as though he already won. And as I opened my mouth to say something, he pretty much already had.

Not long after we were caught in the same liplock we were a while ago. I arched my back and held one of my hands on his shoulder, the other just uselessly hanging by my side, as if paralyzed. He was right, it wasn't weird or unnatural. It was just was.

I remembered all the times when my sister would come home with "the most handsome guy in the whole school" and they'd sit on the couch and just talk and laugh. She'd always kiss his cheek and he'd smile his "gorgeous" smile. One time I'd caught them making out, all the while whispering "I love you..." whenever they needed air. And I'd just stand there, wondering what in the world my dad would do if she was his daughter too and he wasn't in jail. But then I'd smile because if that were true he'd just let them be, because I'd be the favorite.

And here I was with Mello, where we were probably only doing this out of sexual frustration. My sister would probably scold me and tell my mother. And I could tell without even knowing him well at all that dad would just laugh and shake his head.

And when I realize this is not the time to be thinking about my old family he's already got me on the floor, nothing but lust and jumbled thoughts glazed over in his eyes. I'm guessing mine looked the exact same, only maybe a bit more humorous, thinking about my dad and all.

He stopped abruptly, and raises himself off of me slightly, resting his weight on his elbows.

"What's so funny?" His sudden question takes me by surprise; I never expected that he'd just cut off to ask me that.

"Huh?" Since telling him I was thinking of my dad would probably freak him out a little bit I figure it'd be best I just act like I have no idea what he's talking about.

"You were smiling." How the hell could I be smiling if I was pushed up against you the whole time.

"How could I have been smiling?" I asked him, trying to ignore the radiating body heat.

"I could feel it." Oh, duh. He could feel me smile like I could feel him smirk.

"Nothing. It was nothing." Now that he interrupted, I wondered how I'd been able to avoide thinking about my current situation and actually go back to something I'd pushed to the back of my mind for so long. My face had probably grown red by now.

"Hm." He quickly went back to shoving his tongue in my mouth, which I quickly followed suit. My hands went from his shoulders to the back of his neck, almost urging him closer.

With him on top of me, I could feel every shift of movement, and it was just so foreign I almost started to get uncomfortable. Almost. There really wasn't much going back now.  
>...,,,...<p>

"Ratchet, you know what to do." said Matt, who was currently tapping keys on the keyboard at an almost inhuman pace.

"Yeah, yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to. It's going to be sooo boring." Ratchet, also tapping keys at an alarming rate on the second computer located in the small room complained, throwing his head back in annoyance.

"Where's Mels and CL anyway? How can they live in such a boring place?" he added, frowning.

"I'm sure they find something. Though there has been some weird tension around them. It's weird." Matt furrowed his brows in thought, before quickly settling his focus back to his game.

"How should I know what goes on in their heads?" Ratchet asked, shrugging.

"Oh hey, we seriously need to figure out the rest of our little plan if we want to execute this." Matt switched the subject, suddenly taking on a serious tone.

"Do we not already have everything planned out already?"

"Uh, no. Or at least, that's not what Mello told me."

"No? Man, this sucks. What do we have left to plan out?"

"Weell, first of all, where we need to go when we get out of this place, and how the hell we can survive."

"I'm sure, we'll be fine. We have Mello, aftera-"

"No, no, no. I cannot allow that. Though your offer is tempting, I'm sorry to say I must decline." The two boys quickly shut down the two laptops and ducked behind one of Roger's desks.

"I'm fully aware, but as you already know, we too, can pull some strings." said Roger, sounding proud and also irritated. The boys shared a confused look.

"That's true but... well, that's also true... that's true as well... okay, okay, I'll ask him. But no guarantees." Roger said, sitting down and rubbing his temples in stress.

"Yes, yes, I know. Okay, goodbye... No, thank you." Roger put the phone back on the receiver with more force than usual as soon as he heard the click from the other side.

"Oh boy..." He muttered.  
>...,,,...<p>

"Oh hey, before I forget, there's something I should probably tell you. You see, Matt, Ratchet, and myself have been planning this for a while. See, we were thinking that we should-"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Tch." Mello hissed, leaving the room to go to his with a roll of his eyes.

"CL, this is urgent, I must speak to you immediately." I recognized the humble, raspy voice of Roger through the other side of the door. Urgent? doubtful.

"Yes?" I asked, opening the door slightly and peeking my head out.

"Please, come." He said, and led me down the hallway and into the commons area. I was shocked to find L, looking a little more sleepless than usual, and another rather coy looking man. He looked rather peculiar, in my opinion. The man had white hair, trailing charmingly down to the back of his neck and framing his face perfectly. He looked handsome, his pale skin matching his hair color. He had his legs crossed with one hand on his knee and the other resting his head, elbow propped up on the armrest on his chair. His eyes were a light grey color, and he was wearing A dark grey formal trench coat and light grey pants. He wore a smirk, his eyes peering at me as though he'd found something of use. It wasn't exactly creepy, just strange. I decided he wasn't there to cause any harm and actually looked like a rather cunning man. He looked more like the professional detective than L.

"Hello CL, how are you?" L asked casually, snacking on a piece of candy. The strange man's eyes softened as well as his smirk and he tilted his head back to look at me through thick lashes.

"Fine." I said, matching his impassive voice.

"This here is Mr. Auguste Benjamin Agnes." L said, indicating with his hand to the man, who was now standing. He walked with confidence over to me and I tensed. Sensing this he closed his eyes and smiled widely, bowing slightly with one hand behind his back and the other outstretched to me. I shook his hand, my eyes never leaving his face. He kept his eyes closed and his slim face friendly.

"Pleased to make your aquaitence, Miss CL. As mentioned earlier I am Auguste Banjamin Agnes. Now, I'd hate to be too abrupt with this or to confuse you in any way, but I'm afraid you will be coming to your new home with me today. I will not try to be your father, I'm only 22 you know, but I will now become your legal guardian, and will be a key player with your training."

My eyes widened at his words. He gave me a sense of security, that I knew, but could really trust him? His face was unusually difficult to read. The only person who was even worse than him with expressions was Mello.

"Hm?" I asked him, unsure of what else to say but not wanting to look like a small child who had lost it's mother. Well, okay, I guess I kind of was, but still.

"Oh, my dear, I know this is such short notice, but please do not feel afraid, I assure you the highest of treatment." He smiled, looking proud. Even though the word treatment through a bit off, I'm sure he didn't mean it like that. I was probably just paranoid ever since the asylum incident.

"Ah, I see." I tried my best not to sound too meloncholy. I tried not to think of anyone but myself, because sometimes being selfish is the only way to live without hurt. That, and I just liked being selfish.

"See? You look brighter already. You don't even have to worry about packing." Bonus.

"Huh." I said, peering over his shoulder at the suitcase.

"CL, I want you to know that you will still meet with either Watari, Roger, or myself once every two weeks. If you want we can meet every weekend, until you're comfortable with your new living arrangement." L spoke up, gazing at me with unreadable eyes.

"Yeah, alright." I said, trying to act a bit more... enthusiastic. Auguste was an interesting man, definitely one I'd like to learn more about, so why not?

"Great! Come on dear, I can already tell we're going to have lots of fun together!" He said warmly, putting his arm around his shoulder and taking a grey colored, plaid jacket I hadn't even noticed off of the coat rack and helping me put it on. It was incredible warm, for what it looked like. It was also an exact replica of his, only a bit more feminine. I must say, it fit perfectly. Auguste grabbed my suitcase with one hand and wrapped his other around my shoulder.

"Excellent!" He exclaimed as he walked me out of the door. I waved to L and Roger before beaming back up at him.

"Auguste? Do you mind if I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Ask away, my dear. Anything you wish to know!" He said. I must say, I greatly appreciated his attitude.

"What's your middle name?" I asked, testing his eagerness. He seemed surprised, and his eyes flashed with something that reminded me of power and fierce determination.

"Aime. I must say, that was a very unexpected and interesting question. I think you'll be a joy to have around. Much more so than the one I was originally planning. She bored me."  
>...,,,...<p>

Okay well I really don't care if you liked how I ended this chapter or not. (That was a lie, I care deeply). So, honestly tell me if you liked this or not, for I receive too many complaints I'll probably re-write this chapter. Not the whole thing, but the ending. I'm thinking of adding one more chapter to this story before it will officially be complete, if not just ending it with this one. Now, I know what you're thinking, and I must say do not worry. I will be making an entirely new series set in the time period of 2nd part of the anime. Where they will then be 19. (They were 19, right?)

Anyway, I hoped you liked, I'll keep you posted. 


	18. Chapter 18: New Generation

We left immediately, and I almost felt a little saddened when I couldn't say goodbye to anyone. Oh well, it wasn't like I'd be seeing them ever again anyways. But the one thought that would nag my mind constantly was that Skyla would overtake my rank as soon as I was erased by Roger. Unless Ratchet would step up his game, although, he was never one to actually care about anything really. Maybe his small harboring of hatred toward her would make him take his grades a bit more seriously, though I doubted that.

That's when a very terrifying though hit me; one that I was surprised I hadn't thought about earlier.

"Will I be able to continue my training?" I asked, arms crossed and an impassive look on my face.

"Well of course! That's one of the reasons why I chose you, you see." Although 'chose' didn't exactly seem like a fitting word for an adoption, (though I suppose this was no ordinary adoption), I couldn't help but feel pleased. If this was the main reason he 'chose' me than that would probably mean I'd be moving on to more advanced things than at Wammys, and would succeed Skyla soon enough. Marksmenship would later become far more than essential.

I decided to stare out the window, my surroundings passing by in a blur. I can't remember if they were exactly the same as they were when I first came here, though I coul feel a slight tinge of nastalgia in the back of my mind.

"Where exactly is your estate?" I asked him from my passengers seat. We were in a rather grand car, and I was almost surprised to see no driver.

"Far from here, though the drive isn't too long. I hope you're alright with having to live far from civilization of any sort." I gave him a confused look and he gave a small chuckle. "Don't think I'll be dropping you off in the middle of nowhere, dear. We're just rather low on neighbors is all." My thoughts about being left on a huge farm with a corn maze full of overly religious and extremely violent children were shattered, much to my joy.

Although, they could help with the improvement of my training, a rather cruel thought came to my mind and I almost shuddered at the realization of almost wanting to take a human life.

"He's not like Matt and I. Or you, for that matter. Ratchet could never kill a person." Mello's voice flashed in my mind and I felt a little bit weird about my previous thoughts; did the intent to kill just come naturally to a person or is it just something one has to get used to? Or was it something where you needed to feel revenge and the only way to achieve it was to kill whoever was in your way? Or did it have to feel justified? As a sacrifice for justice? No, that last one was definitely wrong. That was what Kira did, and his actions were just plain stupid.

If I'm going to find out if killing a person is as hard as those actors on TV make it out to be than I'll need actual experience. I wonder how old I'll be when I, if I, kill my first person. First... already thinking there'll be more than just one. Is this what preparing for future L is like? Near didn't seem like the type to shoot somebody to death.

That's because he'd get someone to do it for him. He'd become involved with the police department, the government. Mello would work alone, with a few close people each with seperate talents. He'd be the one to kill people. Or, well, most of them. That was the difference between the two. They each had seperate ways of doing things, seperate ways of seeing out a kill.

A part thinks that if they worked together then Kira wouldn't stand a chance. The other part just thinks that it'd end in disaster and probably have Near shot to death by Mello on the first day out of simply annoyance.

I had to resist yelling "Holy shit!" at the top of my lungs when I finally saw my new 'home'. It was absolutely huge! Not like a farm with a giant field of corn but a large mansion with a large lot in the back along with many targets all perfectly lined up and a great deal of boxes and machinery... it was like the training grounds back at Wammys only more efficient and much bigger.

"Isn't it grand? And what's best is that we have the entire estate to ourselves!" Auguste said, cheery smile still plastered on his pale face.

"How can you even keep a whole place like this to yourself?" I asked with awe, still staring at the seemingly endless amount of windows.

"Pull a few strings, know the right people... you'd be surprised how far that can get you.. if you're smart, of course."

"Right..."

"Well, c'mon then. The inside is even more impressive." He was most definitely right. The inside had at least one grand piano, plenty of guest bedrooms, grand staircases made of the finest of ebony.. it was amazing, but I just wanted to see what the training grounds were like.

"And finally, my personal favorite." He opened the backdoor leading from the dining room that was surprisingly small and held the door wide open for me to see. If I had managed to keep an impassive face than I was sure I must've looked as though he'd just opened the gates to Heaven.

Targets were lined up perfectly with different numbers indicating how far away said target was in one section, guns lined the large black rack next to the doorway, boxes were stacked together and sprawled throughout the section creating a small type of obstacle course much like at Wammys, and crates of extra ammo could be found at certain points around the course.

"Woah..." I muttered, my eyes grazing at every nook and cranny.

"Feel free to come here whenever you like. Feel bored? Can't sleep? I find shooting to be very helpful. And I will give you lessons." Auguste said, putting his hand on my friendly like a master would to their new apprentice. Which would describe this current situation perfectly.

"Here's rule number 1. Marksmenship is everything. It will be all you know, while only taking up a small sliver of your mind. You will become an addict to the savory feeling of pulling the trigger. You will hear the song of a gunshot so many times you'll become deaf to it as well as to be so accute you could here one from a block away in even the busiest of cities. Your eye will be so accustomed you won't even need a second thought to readjust your arm or follow whatever figure it is you're aiming at. Like this."

Before his words had even begun to sink in he fired with a revolver he had tucked inside his jacket and fired at the closest target without his gaze leaving me for a second. I probably looked scared, but managed to turn my attention towards the target he had fired at. I swear, it wasn't humanly possible to get a bullet any closer to smallest red circle on the target.

"Are we clear?" He asked, bowing slightly, closing his eyes and smiling. He put the gun away so swiftly I hadn't even known if he put it in his jackets or one of his pant's pockets.

"Y-yeah." I said, trying to regain my composure and remain impassive. He left and motioned me to follow, though I remained for an extra second longer, staring at that dent. Either this man was an insane psychopath or just lucky. He was obviously the first one. Either way, though, I envy his talent greatly enough to go through anything he might have in store for terms of training.  
>...,,,...<p>

"CL... get in here immediately." I'd been living and training with Auguste for about 2 months now, and through the first 2 weeks I was sure my arms would have to become amputated. He said that I have to train both arms should my dominate one ever get injured and I'd have to rely on my other. So, he made sure for me to become ambidextrous. He made me spend a full three days just learning, practicing, and studying the best ways to reload ammo in different situations. He even taught me the best rolling tactics to dodge a bullet and where and when a person would fire a gun by a mere glance at their body language. He was just perfect at it all.

"Huh?" I asked, almost crossly, for interrupting my training.

"Roger... would like to talk to you." He handed me the phone and stepped back a bit. One of his hands was bent and held the small of his back while the other pinched his temples together in frusteration. He wore a grave look and he seemed paler than usual. I swiftly turned and raised the phone to my ear.

"Roger, what is it?" I asked, trying to keep out the panic in my voice.

"CL... we have some bad news. I'm afraid Kira has... Kira's... he's won." My eyes snapped open. No, this couldn't be happening. I swallowed. Hard.

"And who.. who was chosen to replace him?" To my own surprise my voice hadn't cracked, though I still felt like the entire world had crashed around me.

"He hadn't chosen. I'm afraid Mello might-" At that I slammed the phone down onto the receiver and took one last glance at Auguste who was outside, sitting with his head in his hands. I couldn't take it anymore. Everyone I had thought to be the strongest, smartest, were all falling before me. It was too much. I ran upstairs and closed my door. It wasn't slammed, because I preferred silence more than loud noises when I was depressed. I slowly crawled up onto my bed before I was stopped abruptedly by Auguste's surprisingly loud voice.

"CL. Get down here. Come outside. Then do whatever." I had to resist rolling my eyes in annoyance, which were starting to become blurred. I marched down the stairs, rubbing my eyes along the way on the sleeve of my long black shirt and opening the door. Auguste was shooting like a madmen though he seemed calm. An opened crate of ammo sat next to him as he fired his revolver at the large array of targets, with each perfect shot they would fall and the next would fall shortly after. I guess he just wanted to know someone was there. I would sit, leaning up against the wall besides the doorway listening to the gun shots and the occasional bird. I had my elboys down on my knees and leaned my head on my arms. I knew he'd glance back at me every now and then, even though I couldn't see his face, as he couldn't see mine. I was once more reminded that he was still a young man, no matter how experienced he seemed.

I knew when he stopped that he'd run out of targets. He walked over and sat down by me. He was in the same position except that his chin was rested on his arms.

"Roger lied." I said, after a comfortable moment of silence. The sun was already beginning to set.

"About what?" He asked, his voice almsot hopeful, though it sounded half dead.

"He said that Kira had won." I replied, steadying my voice.

"No. Far from it. We still have an entire arsenal up our sleeve. We just need some time to recover losing the leader." He said.

"I bet Kira thinks its finally all over."

"What hi doesn't know... is giong to kick his ass." He said, rather humorously. And with that he stood, and extended his hand to me. I took it, but was schocked to feel his favorite, his prized revolver which he took everywhere with him in a secret pocket on the inside of his jacket in his palm, now in mine. I looked at him and he smiled before walking over and pressing a button to reset all of the targets. He gave me one last sad smile before leaving, looking rather fatigued, and leaving me alone at the training grounds. ...,,,...

I could never repay Auguste enough for all he's done for me. I could never repay L enough for all he's done for me. I could never repay even my own father for all he's done for me.

But I could start by killing Kira. Or, at the very least, have a very large role in killing Kira.

It's been two years since L's death. Let the games begin.

Is it crappy? Oh geez I really hope it's not crappy.  
>BAM ending of story. It's complete. BUT, AND I'M TYPING IN CAPS TO GAIN YOUR ATTENTION, I WILL BE WRITING A SEQUEL TO THIS SOOO KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE OUT FOR THAT. It'll be a while, but it'll be worth it. Or, well, it will be if you liked this chapterstory.

Feel free to PM me and/or review with any questions, critisism, or opinions. Or anything, really.

Ta-ta! 


	19. Chapter 19: Update

**NEW STORY IS OUT AND ITS CALLED "TIN FOIL AND GUN POWDER" (GET IT?) SO IF YOU LIKE THIS ONE AND WANT TO CONTINUE FOLLWING THIS STORY THEN GO READ THAT ONE. Thank you.**


End file.
